And the Beat Goes On: Book Two
by Dreamweaver4121
Summary: With Ryouga's suicide attempt and the subsequent destruction of Nerima averted, the new first couple of Nerima begins their reign in the center of the wheel of insanity. Have mercy upon these poor souls...
1. First Daze of School

It was a nightmare...it had to be...

Ryouga eyed his surroundings and trembled in fear. He remembered this place...those large, endless corridors with the windows on one side that mocked him with its promise of freedom. On the other side were the doorways to long, grueling hours of confinement where he would be locked in with twenty or so other prisoners. There, the large, looming master of the room would drill each relentlessly, glaring at them with a sneering condescension that would always drive him crazy.

He remembered this was the place that he met the bane of his existence. Though a fellow prisoner at this place, this person was different than most others. This person was a freer spirit than the others who found themselves confined to this place during the morning hours and this person seemed bent on using his free spirit to torment Ryouga to no end. He just blew in with the wind, made a life that was already tormented a living hell and blew away just as quickly.

But when his tormentor left, Ryouga followed. Though it was a quest of vengeance, it was also one of liberation. No longer would he be confined to that prison with the smug overseers and soulless co-prisoners. He had been freed to see the world for himself. Freed to learn life's lessons and to discover paths he wasn't aware was available to him before.

Even though his future seemed bright, the ghosts of the past always haunted his dreams. There were nights when he found himself back in those prison cells with those overseers, letting him know he would never truly be free of them; letting him know in their own way that sooner or later, he'd be back in their clutches when he leased expected it. Those dreams came frequently, until a new nightmare took its place; the one where he fell in a particular spring over and over...in as a man, out as a pig. That, in turn, was followed by nightmares of becoming a meal for a large predator, or some slob who had a taste for pork chops.

But now, with a series of events that had taken place recently, those old haunting dreams have returned. All of a sudden, he was back in those endless corridors. The large, looming overseers reappeared, smiling smugly, as if to say "You see? Just as we promised, you are back in our hands. And this time, there will be NO escape."

Ryouga awoke with a start. With a sigh of relief, he recognized he was still in the room given to him by Ukyou. Wiping his brow, he laid back down and tried to relax. He didn't understand what was causing him to react this way. Things weren't the same as they were then. He was a warrior now. He had faced some of the fiercest opponents out there and emerged victorious. He even survived his attempt at self-destruction. This should be no trouble at all for him. Those corridors and overseers shouldn't be so large now. Reassuring himself that things weren't going to be so bad, he slowly drifted back to sleep. Unfortunately, he didn't get far as there was a knock on the door. All of the dread he worked out of his system returned in earnest as the news he feared the most was relayed by this 'landlord'.

"Hey, hon! Time to wake up! We gotta get ready for school."

It was a nightmare...it had to be...

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"The First Daze of School"

-

School. It's been so long since he attended one last...one that didn't have martial arts as a basis anyway. Even then, it had been a few years. Ever since he left to chase Ranma, he hadn't even given his past life in school a thought. But now, with his first day in high school looming, he was reminded of just how much he hated having to go to school. Just getting there was usually an adventure. Even though he lived less than a mile away and could've easily walked there, it always took him a few hours to traverse from his house to campus...on a good day. And when he actually got there, he could never find his way around the huge buildings. The kids never let an opportunity to pick on him pass when it came to his lousy sense of direction.

Of course, being the target of other kids insults also made him a target for bullies. Every day he made it to school, he'd have to deal with a group of kids beating him up. That was the whole reason he took up martial arts in the first place. Once he became proficient in the art, he taught those bullies a lesson they never forgot. Coincidentally, after he finally beat down those bullies good, the other kids stopped picking on him. But since that time, Ryouga had always hated the idea of someone using their power to pick on those weaker than they were. From that time, he had taken to confronting any bullies that tried to assert themselves and teaching them similar lessons.

Then, came middle school...and Ranma Saotome. At first, Ryouga didn't pay him any attention. He wasn't a bully, after all; in fact, he seemed to have the same distain for them. But then those stupid bread feuds started and Ranma started throwing his weight around. It was absolute hell...no matter what he did, he could never get the best of Ranma in those days. After about a month of being embarrassed at Saotome's hands, he finally decided to challenge the pony-tailed martial artist. Of course, the coward couldn't wait the four days it took Ryouga to travel from his house to the lot in his back yard.

That was the last time he attended school. And now, he's getting ready to go back and ironically, he's going to be attending school with Ranma again. The whole reason why he was going to go back to school and finish his education was the plot he and Ukyou were cooking up to split Ranma and Akane up. Now that the plot had come apart before it could even come to fruition, Ryouga didn't see much reason to go through with it. But while he was nursing Ukyou back to health, she insisted their deal stay in place...that he would stay and help her run the restaurant while she helped him in school. As he was the reason she was bedridden in the first place, he didn't have it in him to refuse.

Ryouga looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He really wasn't looking forward to this, but a promise was a promise. He wasn't going to go back on his word...no matter how unpleasant it was going to be for him. With a sigh, he dampened a rag with heated water and cleaned his face. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Not even before battle had he ever felt this nervous. The only thing that could compare was all the times he tried to confess his love for Akane. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. With all the things he had experienced in his young life, there was nothing school could throw at him that could be of any real consequence, was there? What could possibly go wrong?

"..."

After those famous last words crossed his mind Ryouga went right back to bed. Now that the question was out there, there was no way he was going to find out. Unfortunately, his resolve to stay in bed crumbled with the combination of his loudly protesting stomach and the wonderful aroma that was coming from downstairs. What to do? Would he stay in bed and avoid finding out "what could possibly go wrong"? Or would he go downstairs, eat and leave with Ukyou (who would definitely not leave without him) to find out?

He got up and got dressed. His stomach won.

----+----

As he straightened out his usual yellow shirt, Ryouga made his way down the stairs. He was greeted by a wondrous array of scents emanating from the kitchen. There, he found Ukyou in her natural habitat, behind the grill working her culinary magic. He stood, mesmerized by her dance of flashing metal, using knives, forks and of course, her spatulas as a sculptor uses a hammer and chisel to create a sensory masterpiece.

Ukyou chanced a glance upward and noticed him watching. She favored him with a smile and said, "Good morning. I was wondering when you were going to get up. For a moment, I thought I would've had to go up there and haul you out of bed myself."

Ryouga sat down at the bar right in front of the grill. "How are you doing this morning?"

"You don't have to keep asking that, you know. I'm fine now. All the bruises are gone. I'm not even stiff anymore...I'm fine."

Ryouga nodded, "That's good. I still can't believe I was responsible for so much damage."

"Past is past, sugar. Nobody was seriously hurt and all the damage has been repaired. I'm surprised, I've never known you to be so concerned about one of your attacks before, no matter how much damage resulted from them."

"That was because my previous attacks were usually focused on Ranma. I've never just lashed out at everyone before. I was...just intent on making everyone hurt the way I was hurting at the time and I didn't care who my target was." That wasn't entirely true and he knew it.

"I think that was just the booze working though you. I wouldn't worry about it." Ukyou pointed one of her mini-spatulas at him and continued, "But if I were you, I'd stay away from that stuff from now on."

"No problem there."

"Good. Now, let's stop all this talk about the past and focus on the future. Have you gotten your schedule, telling you what classes you're going to be going to?"

"Not yet."

"Well, we'll just have to get there early so we can stop by the office to get you one." She noticed he started fidgeting. "What's wrong?"

Ryouga looked down at his hands. "I...I'm not looking forward to going back to school. I've never had good experiences at any of the schools I've been to before. I know I promised you I'd stick to the deal, but I don't think I can go through with this."

Ukyou shook her head, "Its just nerves, hon. You're going into an environment you haven't been in for a long time. Don't worry about it. And with me helping you out, it'll be a breeze. Now here, eat up." She handed Ryouga a plate of okonomiyaki.

Picking up a knife and fork, Ryouga cut a piece and placed it in his mouth. "Wow...this is great. What is it?"

She flashed him an evil grin. "My best okonomiyaki dish...made with grilled pork."

He dropped his fork and ran to the bathroom, nearly choking.

----+----

The day was sunny and bright without a single cloud in the sky. For the Jusenkyo cursed among the population it was a good sign. Children of all ages were strolling along, chatting happily with their friends on their way to their various institutions of learning. Ukyou and Ryouga walked among them, with the okonomiyaki chef leading the perpetually lost boy by the hand. He, of course, wasn't particularly happy with her at the moment because of the prank she pulled.

"That wasn't very funny, you know," he said.

"You should've seen it from my angle. It looked pretty funny."

Ryouga shook his head. "You know about my...circumstances. Why would you do such a thing?"

"Oh, come off it, sugar. You're lucky that's all that happened. So, what in the world possessed you to become Akane's pet?"

"It wasn't something I planned. It...just...sort've happened. It was my first time back in town since following Ranma to China. After many days of searching, I found him and we fought. An incident involving Akane cut our fight short and they went home. I followed him there and tried to finish the fight that night, but it was raining and I changed before we could continue. She found me and eventually adopted me as a pet...calling me P-Chan."

Ukyou laughed, "P-Chan, huh? That's pretty cute."

"I didn't think so. But in that moment, she touched my heart in a way no one ever had before." Ukyou's jovial expression dropped at that part. Ryouga continued, "I just couldn't stop myself from playing the part of her pet. Besides, with Ranma and Happousai there, I thought it best that I stayed and protect her."

She glared at him, "'Protect her' huh? That's your story and you're sticking to it, right?"

Ryouga shrugged. "That's how it happened. Course, now with them...together...I don't think P-Chan will be making any more appearances. It'd just be too painful seeing them together."

He was heading towards a subject that was still rather touchy for both of them. It was time to steer the story in another direction. "So why in the world did you follow Ranma to China."

"It was a matter of honor. I challenged him to a duel in the lot behind my house and before I could get there, he ran away."

Ukyou blinked. "He ran? That certainly doesn't sound like Ranchan."

"Well, he did. He used it taking me four days to get there as an excuse for his cowardice."

She nearly fell over. "It took you FOUR DAYS to get to your back yard? I knew your sense of direction was bad, but give me a break."

"It took me another month before I found out he and his father were heading to China on a training trip. I followed them, but it took me three years before I was able to catch up with them in Jusenkyo. When I did, they had already fallen into the pools themselves. I didn't recognize them and they caught me off guard. The next thing I knew, a girl, whom I later found out was Ranma, knocked me into one of the pools also."

Ukyou nodded. "I guess I understand why you're always fighting with him now. Heh, during all that time, I was searching for Ranma and his father here in Japan. I never did find out they went to China. I guess it was a stroke of good luck that I never did. Otherwise, I probably would have a curse too."

Before their conversation developed any further, they arrived at Furinkan High School. Ryouga looked up at the clock tower, which read 7:40 am. This wasn't the first time he had been to this school, but it was always as a visitor. Now that he was a student, the building seemed different...more imposing. Once again, he felt as if he couldn't go through with it. Sensing Ryouga's trepidation, Ukyou gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Seeing that it wasn't helping, she sighed, held his hand as tight as she could and drug him to the entrance.

"Hold, scoundrel!"

Kuno, huh? It must be time for his daily pounding by Ranma and/or Akane. Strange, though, since they usually arrived to school closer to 8am than this. And was it Ukyou's imagination, or was Kuno waving his bokken at them?

"You there," Kuno called again. "You are that Hibiki fellow, are you not?"

Ryouga snapped out of his daze. "Yeah? What's this about?"

"Do not feign ignorance with me, you knave," boomed Kuno. "I remember our last encounter where you threatened our very lives with your evil power. I remember how you so brazenly mistreated the pigtailed girl. Do you think you could just get away with those crimes without being penalized for them?"

Ever the hero, that Kuno was, wasn't he? "Simmer down, Kuno," Ukyou said, trying to keep the peace. "Ryouga's already paid his debt for that. I made sure of it."

"That may be able to satiate you, but not I. He needs to be brought to justice and I will see to it that he will have justice meted out to him!"

Ryouga pushed Ukyou out of the way. "Well, this is an environment I'm more comfortable with. Whenever you're ready, Kuno." At Ryouga goading, Kuno charged with his bokken crackling with electricity. Just as he was poised to strike, Ukyou stepped back between them with her mega-spatula in hand and walloped Kuno into the stratosphere.

"Feh...idiot," went Ukyou, as she put her mega-spatula back in its resting place.

"Hey, I was gonna do that!" complained Ryouga.

"No time for any drawn out fights, hon. Now let's hurry before you're late."

----+----

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Huh...Kuno's early this morning, isn't he?" asked Autumn, who was working in her back room with the window open.

"Yep," answered Mousse, who was in Autumn's backyard studying the scroll Cologne gave him.

----+----

With Ryouga's schedule in hand, Ukyou lead him to his homeroom class. From the looks of it, they were going to have a few classes in common, which was good. It would save time for her having to lead him back and fourth. However, they didn't share homeroom classes, so she had to drop him off before heading to hers. "Here you go, hon."

"Thanks."

"Good luck. You're going to need it." She patted him on the shoulder and made a hasty retreat.

"Huh? What did she mean by that?" Ryouga walked into the classroom and was met with two surprises. The first was the teacher in the class...a familiar looking female with brown hair, a one piece mini-dress that almost looked like a gown on her four foot, child-like form. "Oh no..."

"Good morning!" the teacher sang. "You must be Mr. Hibiki. I've been expecting you. Welcome to Furinkan High. My name is-"

"Oh, I know who you are," said Ryouga. "You're Hinako Ninomiya!"

Hinako blinked. "Yes, that's right. How did you know that? You aren't a bad boy that I had to punish once before, are you?"

He waved his hands in the air frantically, "Oh no! No! I'm a good boy...I mean, I'm a good person. I won't be any trouble."

Hinako smiled, "That's great! Now, since this is a packed class, there aren't very many seats available for new students. Come to think of it, there's only one open seat left. Right there in front of-"

"Ranma?" Ryouga's jaw dropped as he was met with the second surprise. It was no wonder he never liked surprises...they were hardly ever good.

"Yo, Ryouga," Ranma said. "What's up?"

"W-what are you doing here?"

"I ask myself that same question almost every day," Ranma quipped. "I don't think there's any need for it, but pops and Akane insist on it."

Akane, who was sitting in the seat next to him, gave her fiancée a glare. "Martial arts can't save you all the time, Ranma. One day, you'll actually have to use your brain to solve a problem." Ranma rolled his eyes. "At any rate," she continued, "we didn't expect to be here so early. We thought we'd have to deal with Kuno, like we always did, but he wasn't there today for some reason." Ryouga chuckled knowingly. "So, what are you doing here?"

Ryouga rubbed the back of his head. "Well...I'm, sort've staying at Ukyou's now to help her out. One of the conditions of me staying there is that I go to school and finish my education."

"Well, I know you're going to do exceptionally here."

"Eh heh..." Ryouga tried to laugh, knowing what she said had already proven itself to be untrue. Now, he was going to be stuck in the same class with his rival and his lost love. Exceptional definitely wasn't the word for the situation he was in.

----+----

The day droned on, with the teacher in front of class teaching...something with that overly peppy demeanor of hers. Ryouga found himself unable to focus on what was happening in front of him as what was happening behind him soured his mood. Usually, they would verbally spar back and forth, the way they've done for as long as he'd known them. But then, some moment would come up where something nauseatingly sweet would be said, or there was a sudden burst of laughter between them. Every time, Ryouga would think 'that should've been me'.

Near the end of the school day, nothing that was said around him registered. What, he wondered, could he have done to warrant such a fate? It was one thing if he had to suffer some sort of punishment for a crime, say his nearly blowing up half of Tokyo. But to be placed so close to a couple that had caused him so much grief...so close to those he wanted to be as far as possible away from; it was torment worse than anything he had ever experienced before. Worse, even, than when he was cursed to become a pig.

It was good that there were class changes during the day, so he wouldn't have to sit there and suffer through the two of them together. But the very beginning and very end of the day, he was sitting right there in front of them, having a little bit more of his soul ripped out. He leaned forward, resting his head in one hand with his eyes closed, wishing some miracle would happen to end the day early...or, if not, that time would speed up so the last bell of the day would ring.

So lost was he in his own little world of despair, he didn't notice that Ranma was addressing him until he felt one of those extra large textbooks bounce off of his head.

Rubbing the spot where the book hit, he shot a glare behind him. "What?" he whispered.

Ranma glared back at him, "You're startin' to glow. Look, buddy, in case ya haven't learned this the last time, we don't like the thought of getting blown up. So, whatever it is that you're thinkin' about that's makin' you so depressed, stop thinking about it!"

"Oh, shut up!" Ryouga shot back. Ranma was such an idiot. Sure, he'd love to be able to magically stop dwelling on the situation. But it was rather hard when the 'situation' was sitting behind him constantly reminding him of how he was always the loser in life and love.

Ranma scowled at him, "Look, P-Chan, I'm tryin' to be nice about this, since I know what you're goin' through."

That got Ryouga riled. He picked up a textbook of his own and threw it behind him, hitting Ranma in the face. "You don't have the slightest idea what I'm going through! And STOP calling me 'P-Chan'!"

The pigtailed martial artist picked up a third textbook and hit Ryouga over the head with it as well. "Whatever, piggy. Just calm down! And for goodness sakes, lower your voice before you get us into trouble."

Ryouga stood up, spun around and hauled Ranma to his feet. "You're already in trouble!" he yelled. "I've had enough of your tormenting me! I'm going to make you pay now!"

Neither noticed the teacher in front of the class until it was too late. "HAPPO-FIVE YEN-SHIATSU!"

----+----

What in the world was taking him so long? Ukyou stood in front of the schools' front gate, tapping her foot impatiently. She figured it was going to take a while for him to get out of class, as the teachers probably had to speak to him about make-up work to catch him up with the rest of the class. But that was nearly a half an hour ago. It shouldn't take so long. For a guy that didn't want to come in today, it sure seemed like he didn't want to leave. Not to mention the looks she was getting from the various students made her rather uncomfortable as well. She could tell they wanted to ask her something, but decided against it from the look on her face. She'd have to worry about them later.

It was then the thought struck her: what if he was gone already? They met for lunch, but she had to get back to class early herself to meet with a teacher for some make-up work because of the time she missed while bed-ridden. He probably couldn't find his way back to the classroom and was probably half way around the world by now. Ukyou shook her head. She'd probably have to get a GPS system so she could keep track of him, or something.

Just as she was getting ready to give up waiting and leave, she heard him call for her. "Ukyou!"

"It's about time you showed up. I was just about to..." She turned around, but she didn't see him. She looked all around the schoolyard, but still didn't see him.

"Up here..."

She looked up and found her roommate sucked clean of his battle aura fluttering down to her. Ukyou shook her head. "Geez. You mean to tell me you couldn't go without getting into trouble even on your first day?"

"You could've warned me that I was going to be in class with Hinako and Ranma."

Ukyou's demeanor fell somewhat. "I thought you would've known better than to get on her bad side after your first run-in with her. I forgot Ranma was in that class though..." She sighed and grabbed him by the leg. "Come on. We have to get the restaurant open." As they headed back, Ryouga, flapping gently in the breeze behind her, quietly lamented his situation. Just as he feared, he found out exactly "what could possibly go wrong" and there was quite a lot that did. If this was how his first day of school went, what could possibly happen next?

'Oh no,' thought Ryouga. "I did it again! I'm doomed..."

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	2. Rumor Mill

"Have a good night!"

Ukyou bowed deeply as the last customer left. With that, she closed the door to her restaurant and locked it, officially ending her business day. Turning around, she gazed at her place of business thoughtfully as Ryouga was sweeping up refuse some of the messier patrons left behind. She went through a lot and opening up the restaurant was one of her greatest accomplishments. But the reason why she opened it in that particular location weighed heavily upon her.

Ryouga, having picked up the trash from the floor and thrown it away, sat down in one of the chairs and let out a long sigh. He couldn't explain it...even with his long journeys, the arduous training regiments he had undergone and the grueling fights he experienced in the past, he couldn't remember ever being this tired before. Truth be told, he had no idea what he was getting himself in to when he agreed to help Ukyou run her restaurant. Constantly having to run back and fourth between increasingly demanding customers wore on him. He would've preferred fighting against three Ranmas with his hands tied behind his back.

Ukyou looked at him and smiled, "Don't tell me you're tired?"

"Exhausted," answered Ryouga. "I don't know how you do it."

"It's just because it's still a new experience for you, sugar. Once you get into the routine, it'll be a breeze."

"If you say so." She sat down beside him, still looking thoughtfully at her shop.

Ryouga noticed her rather odd behavior. "Hey. Something wrong?"

"No...yes...I dunno." Ukyou laughed at herself, knowing how little sense she was making. "I'm just considering closing the restaurant. Possibly moving to a new location." Ryouga blinked. So soon after having him move in and hiring him? "Don't worry, my new employee, I'd take you with me, of course. I just think a change in scenery would do us both some good. Don't you think so?"

"Where's this coming from?"

"Do you REALLY have to ask that question? The whole reason why I moved here and opened this shop was so I could win Ranma over. Now that he's out of reach...again...I really don't see why it should stay. Too many memories here...I think moving would help us to get on with our lives."

Ryouga shook his head. "I can't believe you're going to let Ranma dictate how you live your life like that."

Ukyou glared at him. "I'm sorry, which one are you again? The pot or the kettle?"

"That's different. All I ever had was my revenge. But you have all of this talent and business sense. There's no reason for you to let our current situation force you to throw it all away. Tell me something; did you do all of this JUST for Ranma? Or do you enjoy being a chef?"

"Of course I enjoy it. After all, I never said I wanted to give it up."

"Well, look at all of the other things you would be giving up. You have friends here. You have a loyal customer base that would hate to see you go. There's no guarantee you'll get either of these anywhere else you run to. You shouldn't throw those things away just because of him. Maybe you came here and opened for Ranma, but you don't have to pack up and leave for Ranma. And you don't have to move away to move on."

She sighed, "But it's going to be so much harder here..."

"I know," said Ryouga, nodding. "I'm going to be stuck with him and Akane in class for most of the day. So, I definitely know. But I'm sure if we keep helping each other, we'll be able to get through it. Just don't give up on everything you've earned so far. What do you say?"

Ukyou smiled again and nodded. She hated to admit it, but their conversation left quite an impression on her.

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Rumor Mill"

-

Finally. It was the dawn of a new day. And this was the day Ryouga Hibiki would finally get what was coming to him. Ever since the newcomer found out that his prey did, indeed, live in the area, he began to scout around, trying to figure out his travel patterns. For one who was perpetually lost, this was usually a daunting task. But lately, the newcomer noticed a consistent travel path.

He was perched on the ledge of someone's apartment waiting. If the patterns held true, any minute now, Ryouga would come walking along the road below him, walking hand in hand with...someone. The someone in question did appear to be a rather attractive girl, but the person was dressed in a boy's school uniform. Most troubling was the wickedly huge weapon the third party had strapped to their back. He would've preferred going against Ryouga one on one, not getting anyone else involved in their fight, but if he had to, he wouldn't hesitate to take him...her...whatever, out.

The newcomer clenched his umbrella tightly in anticipation. He had waited a long time for this, endured a lot of hardships in his pursuit. His blood boiled as he remembered the indignities he had gone through because of Hibiki. Today, he swore, would be the day of Ryouga's reckoning. The lost fool was going to pay...was going to finally be defeated at his hands, or his name wasn't-

"PERVERT!"

The newcomer sighed heavily. He had been called 'pervert' so many times since he had moved to that town; it may as well have been his name. He craned his neck and found himself face to face with yet another attractive girl. She seemed familiar to him for some reason, though. He cleared his throat and tried to be as dignified as possible, despite his precarious position, "May I help you?"

"What are you doing up here?" the girl asked. "You're trying to steal my underwear, like that old lecher, aren't you?"

Underwear? What WAS she talking about? That's when he noticed, for the first time, the line of various women's undergarments well within his reach. In fact, some were hanging on the rail of the ledge...and he had a very firm grip on a pair of her panties. He blushed slightly "Ah, I see now. This has been a big misunderstanding, I assure you."

"Yeah, right! You creep!"

"I'm sorry, I have to ask...have we met somewhere before?"

The girl blinked. "What, are you trying to come on to me now?"

"No! No! I just have this feeling we've met somewhere before."

The girl studied him closely. Now that he mentioned it, he seemed familiar to her as well. Then it clicked. "Hey! That's right! We caught you before with the old man's sack of stolen stuff. The brigade taught you a lesson already, but it looks as though it hadn't sunk in yet."

Oh brother. This was just getting better and better. " 'Brigade'?"

"That's right," she said proudly. "We are the Perversion Elimination and Resistance Volunteer Squad...a group of girls who have taken it upon themselves to fight off perverted individuals like yourself!"

The newcomer stopped and processed that bit of information. "So...let me get this straight...you're P.E.R.V.S?"

She was going to let him have it with both barrels because of the insult she felt he laid on them, but then it dawned on her what exactly he was saying. "Aw crap...I knew we should've come up with a better name than that!"

"Erm...right." The newcomer looked down and spotted Ryouga and his sexually ambiguous friend walking below him. He almost missed his chance. "I'd love to stay and chat some more...actually, no I wouldn't. Gotta go!" He leapt off of the ledge initiating his attack. Unfortunately, he still had possession of the girl's panties.

"HEY!" She grabbed the nearest item she could find, which was a heavy metal bucket, and hurled it at him. The bucket clocked him upside the head, causing him to fall into a patch of bushes, unconscious.

----+---- 

Hearing a noise, Ryouga stopped and turned around. However, he didn't spot anything out of the ordinary.

"What's the matter?" Ukyou asked.

"Thought I heard something." Ryouga shrugged. "Guess it was nothing."

----+----+----+----+---- 

"Did Ryouga seem depressed to you, yesterday?" Akane asked. She and Ranma managed to get to school rather early for a change that day. They figured they'd need the extra time to deal with the supercharged Upperclassman Kuno, but he was nowhere to be found. So, counting their lucky stars, they decided to sit under the tree where they usually spend lunch to talk with a modicum of privacy.

At Akane's rather silly question, Ranma glared at his fiancée. "Ryouga? Depressed? Naw..." The question was akin to asking if water was wet

"More depressed than usual, I mean. Since we ran into him and Ukyou that time, he seems so down in the dumps. I wonder what could've done that to him?"

Ranma shook his head, "I couldn't tell ya." At least in this, Ranma was telling the truth. He did know why Ryouga was unstable more than was typical. It just wasn't his place to say anything. And if Ryouga couldn't bring himself to say what he felt, then, as far as Ranma was concerned, Ryouga's feelings would remain a secret. Still, something had to be done about his depression. If things continued the way they did, then Ryouga could snap and go on another rampage at any time. And who knew if anyone could stop him from destroying the town this time.

"Say, Ranma..."

"Hmm?"

"I was just thinking...you don't suppose Ryouga is still in love with Ukyou, do you?"

Still? Were they ever in love? "In love? Why would you say that?"

"Don't you remember the time in that cave? They seemed to be so close, but since then, Ukyou's been pursuing you hard...like..." Akane blinked, as if a light bulb just clicked on in her head, "Like she felt the same way about him, but was in denial...like we were."

Ranma scratched his head, "I dunno..."

"Sure, it all makes sense now! Ryouga's such a good person...he probably decided to let Ukyou go so she could continue pursuing you, wanting her to be happy. But then we decided to get together and it made Ukyou upset. Ryouga, still being in love with her and seeing her upset, got upset himself...which would explain that run-in where the two of them confronted us. Not to mention his concern for me, since we're such good friends."

"Err..."

"After that, Ryouga must've tried to comfort Ukyou and make her feel better. But she must've thought he was trying to make a move on her while she was in a vulnerable state and told him off. Since Ryouga IS rather sensitive, he went over the edge and started that rampage."

"I really don't think that's how that went..."

"What other way could there have been? I don't know if you noticed, but when he attacked us, he looked like he had given up on life. His eyes had no sparkle...no emotion to them. But once Ukyou showed up, he flared with fire and passion and attacked her in a way he didn't with us. And the way he just stopped when she apologized for treating him so badly..."

Ranma could only shake his head.

"Poor guy. He stayed with her to nurse her back to health from what he did to her...but I bet she still rejects him. No doubt everything she had been through to get you to marry her burned her out on love and relationships and needs time to heal emotionally too. It's no wonder he's so bummed."

Ranma sweatdropped, "Eh...if you say so."

"Hey!" called Yuka, as she and Akane's other friend, Saiyuri showed up. Ranma sighed in relief. Hopefully, they'll change the subject so Akane could stop going off on such weird tangents. "You two talking about Ukyou and Ryouga?" Ranma shook his head again...so much for that idea.

"Yeah," answered Akane. "What do you know about them?"

"If you weren't absent so much lately, you'd know they've been the talk of the school."

"That's right," chimed in Saiyuri. "We saw them a few weeks ago. From what I understand, she brought Ryouga in to take a placement exam to get him enrolled into school. Didn't seem like much at the time, but the way they hugged after they found out how well he did...seems like something's going on between them."

"Not to mention how they're always holding hands when they're coming and going," Yuka said.

"Of course, they'd be holding hands," went Ranma. "She has to. Ryouga would wander off and end up on the other side of the world if she didn't. At any rate, why are you so concerned about them anyway?"

Yuka shrugged. "No offense, but since you and Akane got together, you got kinda boring. We have to have SOMETHING to gossip about."

"Besides," added Akane, "if Ukyou and Ryouga are together, I think it'd make them happier. They are our friends after all. And you do want to see them happy, right?"

Ranma rolled his eyes at the jabber of the girls. But then, he thought about Akane's words. If they did get together, then they wouldn't be so lost in their disappointment. If he helped Ukyou to become happy, then it would work to pay her back for some of the mess he made in her life. The biggest plus of all, though, would be Ryouga. A happy Ryouga meant a Ryouga that wouldn't blow everyone up. He raised an eyebrow, "I guess getting Ukyou and Ryouga together would be good...for them. If they are hesitant to get together, then I guess the thing a 'good friend' would do would be to give them a nice little push..."

A big grin crept across Akane's face. "Looks like we're going to do some matchmaking!"

----+----+----+----+----

As they neared the front gate of Furinkan High School, Ukyou had a sudden feeling of foreboding. She didn't know how or why, but she had the feeling that someone was either watching her, or had something planned for her and it made her feel very uneasy. Probably had something to do with Ryouga and his hearing things. She turned back and noticed he had an uneasy expression as well.

While looking at him, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye that may have explained both of their feelings. She guided Ryouga to the gate and placed him just on the other side. "Could you wait here for me? There's something I need to take care of."

"Umm...sure," said Ryouga, confused.

She ran back out to the street and approached a mailbox that, she recognized, wasn't there just yesterday. As if she hadn't gone through enough in the past few weeks, this little annoyance had to come back on top of it. She banged on the top of the mailbox with her fist. "Okay, I know you're in there. Come on out."

The front of the mailbox opened up and the head of her 'annoyance', the cross dresser Tsubasa, popped out. He held his ears, as they were left ringing from her banging on his metallic disguise. "Owwwww! What did you do that for?"

"What are you doing here, Tsubasa?" demanded Ukyou. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time you were here?"

The boy, who made a better girl than most actual girls, looked at her and smiled. "It's been a while, Ukyou. I heard you were on the outs with Ranma and just thought I'd stop in to see how you were doing."

How glibly he said that. It was as if he took a dagger with a jagged blade and plunged it in her heart. The way he was so caviler with her pain made her want to rip him out of that mailbox, beat him to within an inch of his life, then dump him in a river where he could be washed out of her life for good. But knowing him, he'd find a way out and back to her. Getting physical with him would do no good; since, where she was concerned, he was a real glutton for punishment. She'd have to go about getting rid of him in a different manner.

She turned away from him and dramatically sighed. "Yes, you're right. Ranma did choose Akane over me. I've been distraught over it for quite some time now."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Tsubasa. "But that's why I'm here. I want to do what I can to help you feel better." And hopefully, get into her good graces so she would fall in love with him and they could have their happily ever after. Of course, he didn't verbalize that little detail.

"I appreciate the offer," she lied. "But, to be honest, I have someone else who's doing that for me."

Tsubasa's jaw dropped. "Whaaaaat?"

In an overly flowery voice and using a microphone that came out of nowhere, she continued to embellish, "It's true! We've been friends for a long time now, while pursuing other people. It's a coincidence, but we were both passed over in the game of love around the same time. Naturally, we shared our pain with each other and leaned on each other for support. During that time, our feelings for each other grew." She took a peek at Tsubasa and he looked as though he wanted to break down into tears. She hated to do this to him, as the pain of losing someone she loved to someone else was still fresh. But it had to be done. Hopefully, it would stick this time and Tsubasa would move on with his life as well, finding another girl who would appreciate him and his...hobbies. One last push should do it.

"We've fallen in love, and now, we're to be married!"

She almost heard the poor guy's heart break. He cast his eyes downward and raged silently. She almost wanted to reach out to him and give him a long hug. But he would have a better chance of reacting the way she wanted if she kept her distance. After a minute passed he looked up at her again and said, "It's that Ryouga guy, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"I've seen the two of you together a few weeks ago...in fact, you were just walking with him, holding his hand."

"W-wait, I didn't say it was-"

"I'm not going to just let this go like I did the last time."

"Like...That was just letting it go?"

"This time, I'm going to fight! And this time, I'm prepared, just in case he's one of those martial arts muscle heads like Ranma!" After making his ominous threat, he bounced away.

Ukyou slapped her forehead. This was not going the way she hoped.

----+----

Ryouga, still standing in the place where Ukyou asked him to wait, tapped his foot to the ground wondering where in the world Ukyou had run off to. It was getting dangerously close to the time for the first period to begin. He was still early in his new scholastic career. With all of that studying it took for him to get in, not to mention that placement test, he didn't want to be threatened already with being thrown out because of excessive absences.

"Ryouga!"

He turned around and found her running back onto school grounds. "There you are. I was wondering what happened to you. Is everything okay?"

"Not exactly..."

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. Ukyou bit her bottom lip. She didn't know how to break it to him that she may have gotten him into a bit of trouble. She wasn't that concerned that Tsubasa could actually hurt Ryouga, but she had to admit the little transvestite was clever and could be quite an irritation when he set his mind to it. There was also the little detail about all those things she said to him. The last thing she wanted was for the things she said to get out in the open.

"Hey, did you hear," said a random girl to her random group of girlfriends. "The Kuonji girl said she was in love with Ryouga. They're engaged already." Ukyou sweatdropped.

"Aww, not him too," said a second girl. "I was hoping I could get a shot at him...such a shame. He was hot too."

"So where did you hear this," asked a third girl.

The first girl answered, "She said so herself to that talking mailbox outside."

Ryouga's eyes widened, hearing the conversation taking place next to him. He looked at Ukyou incredulously. "I...I don't believe this..."

The okonomiyaki chef waved her hands in front of her, "Ryouga, wait! I can explain..."

"A talking mailbox?"

Ukyou facefaulted.

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	3. Life is What You Mecha It

"I can't believe you told him we were in love!" blasted Ryouga.

"I didn't exactly tell him," countered Ukyou. "I just said that I had fallen in love with someone else. I gave him a couple of details but I didn't name anyone. He just thought it was you since he'd seen us together before."

"Well, yeah. We've been together a lot lately. Who else would anyone think of when you'd say something like that?"

"You want me to say that I wasn't thinking? Fine. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to get rid of Tsubasa in the easiest way possible. I was hoping this would do it in a way that wouldn't stir up too much trouble."

"I can't believe you...after everything that's happened. I can't believe that you'd use me like that..."

"I told you, I didn't use you! I would never use you in that way. Never!"

As the couple was arguing in the front of Furinkan High School, a mailbox bounded its way to the school's front gate. A cute, feminine looking blond head poked its way out of the opening. "You there! You're Ryouga Hibiki, aren't you?"

Immediately, Ukyou pressed herself against Ryouga, "There he is, honey! That's the man who threatened you!" Ryouga blushed and glared at her. She leaned closer and whispered, "Okay, I'll never use you in that way ever again. Besides, it's just Tsubasa. He is a clever one, but he's not that strong. If you can keep your wits about you, you should have no trouble beating him." She let him go, pushed him towards his new adversary and shouted, "Go get him, hon! I'm counting on you to defend my honor!"

Ryouga shook his head. True, he had been involved in some pretty peculiar situations before, but this was something new to him. He sighed and looked down at his 'opponent'. What in the world was the mailbox about anyway? He would've asked, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the answer would be too stupid for him. He lowered his backpack to the ground and walked up to his latest challenger."Okay, buddy! You've got some nerve coming after..." He looked back at Ukyou and she nodded, spurring him on. "...my girl like that..." He had a sudden urge to wash his mouth out with soap. "Now, you're going to pay!"

Tsubasa narrowed his eyes. "A fight, huh? Good. That's just what I was hoping for!" There was a loud beep...apparently from a button pressed inside the mailbox. Suddenly, the small container grew a pair of legs from the bottom. The sides sprouted arms, each with what looked to be lazer guided missile launchers attached. The top of the mailbox slid all the way to the back, leaving a glass casing protecting his head. All in all, the mechanism was twice Ryouga's size.

Now looking way up at his opponent, Ryouga's jaw dropped. "Aw crap..."

Ukyou, also looking way up, held a similar expression. "Okay, maybe you'll have a little trouble..."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Life is What You Mecha It"

-

Stupid P.E.R.V. He had the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge against Ryouga Hibiki, but she had to get involved. The newcomer walked aimlessly through town, rubbing his head where that bucket struck it. She must've been some sort of expert at bucket throwing. Normally, such a thing wouldn't hurt, but it hit him in exactly the right pressure spot to knock him out. Tired of just walking with nowhere to go, he sat down on the curb to collect his thoughts.

This was a part of town that was new to him. He pulled out a map and studied it. There was no telling where Ryouga and that other person were at the moment, so all he could do was find his way back home and try again tomorrow. Now, as near as he could tell, he was standing in front of some high school...Furrycan, or something. Now, he had his apartment pinpointed on the map with an 'X' written in blue ink. If he could just find the high school on the map, he could finally head back to his tranquil island in the middle of this sea of stupidity.

Of course, it would be a whole lot easier to concentrate on what he was doing if there wasn't such a commotion coming from the campus. What in the world could be going on this early in the morning that there would be so much noise? He tried not to think about it, focusing on his task of navigating his way home. With his luck of late, whatever was going on would soon involve him getting beat up and called pervert. He'd had quite enough of that for one day.

He tried to concentrate...he really did. But the noise from whatever was going on at the school was just too much for him to tune out. He felt for sure he was going to regret it, but curiosity got the best of him He just had to know what all the commotion was about. Probably a school yard fight. Fools didn't know what a 'fight' really was. He hopped on the outer wall that was right behind him...and nearly fell right back off.

He couldn't believe it! He actually found Ryouga! This must be the school the lost boy attended now. And...was he fighting a giant robot? The newcomer shook his head. With the things he had experienced in his short time there, he shouldn't be surprised to see something like that. Dropping back down to ground level, he ducked behind a tree and watched the bizarre confrontation as it unfolded. It would be good to see Ryouga in battle. It would be good to see how Ryouga's fighting style had evolved; giving him an idea of what he'd be in for.

----+----

As Ranma, Akane and her friends, Yuka and Saiyuri sat waiting for the first period bell, they noticed a large throng of their fellow students were rushing toward the front of the building. Being hardened veterans of the Furinkan High battle scene, each recognized a fight was taking place. Usually, though, the fights would involve either Ranma or Akane, so this new event piqued their interest.

Ranma stood up and stopped one of the boys who were rushing to join the gathering audience. "Yo, man. What's goin' on?"

With the way rumors travel from one person to the other, the boy said, "That Ryouga guy is married to Ukyou now and they're going to have a child. But that Tsubasa person is back and is fighting Ryouga in a Gundam!"

The pigtailed martial artist blinked. "Say what?"

"I gotta go before all the good viewing spots are taken!" The boy continued on his way.

"Wow, they move fast," commented Saiyuri.

"No kidding," said Yuka. She nudged Akane, "So why haven't the two of you gotten that far yet?"

Akane blushed. "We're moving at our own pace, if you MUST know."

"Besides, Ryouga's so shy when it comes to girls, he'd pass out before anything happened. But what's all this about Tsubasa and a Gundam?"

Never one to stay out of someone else's business, Yuka stood and said, "Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

----+---- 

How in the world did he get into this mess? This was supposed to have been just a boring second day of school...more boring, he was hoping, than the first. True, he had gotten into all sorts of bizarre situations before, from fighting dragons in human form, to helping out Akane while her consciousness was stuck in a doll, to getting lost in a forest filled with gigantic animals. But giant robots? As far as he knew, even Ranma hadn't faced anything like that.

Seeing Ryouga's expression, Tsubasa couldn't help but smile. "What's the matter? Thought I was going to be an easy opponent? Thought I wasn't going to be any trouble to defeat?"

Ryouga glared at Ukyou again, "Well, SOMEBODY thought so, anyway." She smiled sheepishly.

"You idiot," went Tsubasa. "I'm not even a martial artist, and even I know: you never underestimate your enemy." He leveled one of the arms at Ryouga, the laser scope leaving a read dot on his forehead.

"Um...don't you think you're overdoing it just a bit?" Ryouga asked.

"Hmm..." Tsubasa stopped and thought about it. "Nah!" He fired one of the missiles on his arm. Ryouga managed to jump out of the way and the missile struck the front of the school building.

"What in the world is wrong with you, Tsubasa!" shouted Ukyou. "Are you out of your mind?"

"No! This is the only way I can match one of these muscle heads one on one. And once I beat this guy, you will be mine! ALL MINE! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Sounds pretty out of his mind to me!" said Ryouga. What he wouldn't say was how uncomfortably familiar that sounded. Ukyou couldn't help but feel the same way.

It was clear that it wasn't going to do any good trying to fight that thing from a distance. All he would have to do was keep firing with those missiles of his. Sooner or later, Ryouga would get worn out and Tsubasa would have him right where he wanted him. In the meantime, there would be a lot of collateral damage, not to mention a lot of innocent bystanders getting hurt. Those bystanders lives were all threatened by Ryouga once; he wasn't about to have them threatened again because of him. He had to get closer so the girlish looking boy's arsenal would be rendered ineffective.

Performing the Martial Artist Super Jump, Ryouga launched a flying kick at the mechanized monstrosity. No doubt, the giant robot wouldn't be fast enough to dodge. Hopefully, it wouldn't be able to stand up against his tremendous strength. Unfortunately, as he got close, the robot proved more agile than he expected. It dodged the kick and spun at the waist, striking Ryouga in the back, causing him to crash to the ground.

The robot turned around and Tsubasa laughed. "I told you; you shouldn't underestimate me!"

Ryouga picked himself off of the ground and tried to shake off the blow. "That was pretty good," he said. "That really stung."

Tsubasa's eye twitched. 'Stung'? It dawned on him what the lost boy was doing and he laughed again. "Not bad, Hibiki. You're trying to psyche me out, but it's not going to work. Even one of you 'tough guys' can't withstand a shot like that and just shrug it off like it was nothing!"

This time, Ryouga was the one laughing. "Looks like with all your talk, you've underestimated me. I've taken worse shots than that during training regiments." He had to admit, though, he did underestimate his attacker. The robot was a lot more agile than he gave it credit for. The tactic was sound; he would just have to stay a step ahead of it. He'd also have to stay grounded; it wouldn't do him any good to be jumping around in the air unable to make quick maneuvers if he needed. After all, Tsubasa wasn't too far from the truth. The punch did do enough damage to cause him a little actual pain. At least now, he was behind the thing, so any subsequent attacks on its part would be aimed away from the school.

Tsubasa started to sweat nervously. Hibiki rushed him again effectively dodging his missile attacks. Apparently, he was telling the truth; the punch his robot landed on him didn't seem to faze him much. Exactly how strong was this guy? It was clear that he wouldn't be able to depend too much on the power of his construct. His arsenal would prove to be his best weapon against the 'muscle head', but his missiles appeared to be too slow. Fortunately, he had another surprise at his disposal.

Apparently, Tsubasa wasn't paying enough attention to what was going on, as Ryouga managed to get too close for comfort. Ryouga landed a punch on the robot's 'abdomen', his fist going through the superstructure Alarm bells rang loudly in Tsubasa's ears, alerting him to the serious damage that was just inflicted upon it. Once again Tsubasa wondered exactly how strong this guy was. It should've been impossible for him to cause so much damage with just his bare fists. It was too dangerous for him to remain so close.

Pressing a button, a machine gun rose up from behind the robot's head and started firing on the lost boy. Once again, Ryouga managed to leap out of the way before the projectiles struck him. This was getting too dangerous for the onlookers. One stray bullet, one unlucky ricochet was all it would take and they'd have a fatality on their hands. He had to put an end to this fight as fast as he could.

He took off a bandanna and began to spin it. Infusing it with a bit of his ki using the same technique he did with his belt, he made it a razor sharp projectile that should be able to slice through anything. He threw it with all of his might, cutting through the vulnerable handle that held the machinegun to the rest of the robot. With it still firing, the machine gun fell forward, shooting the robot's 'head' and its right arm. The glass 'head' that encased Tsubasa was bulletproof, so he was safe. However, the arm was not. The bullet penetrated the armor and hit the missile launcher, causing the arm to explode.

With the operator of the robot staggered, Ryouga pressed his advantage. He took off two more of his seemingly endless supply of bandannas and threw them as well, slicing through the weak joints on the left arm and right leg, both of which fell to the ground. With only one leg left, Tsubasa found it impossible to keep the robot upright. It fell to the ground with a booming thud. Taking no chances that the robot had anymore surprises, Ryouga leapt over the robot and delivered the finishing blow...

"SHI SHI HOUKODAN!"

----+----

The newcomer had to smile. That was quite the impressive show he was treated to. He was gratified to see Ryouga came out of it relatively unharmed, as he wanted the pleasure of making Ryouga suffer himself. He looked at the smoldering remains of the robot and gave a silent nod to its pilot. It was a valiant try on his part.

The fight also proved very educational and some of what he saw was rather troubling. He was still a brute who liked to power his way to victory, and that power seemed grow at a greater rate than expected. And that ki attack, the Shi Shi whatever it was, was definitely a new trick. They would be formidable to defeat, but he didn't think he'd have any real trouble with them. What was of real concern was how he was able to shrug off that robot's punch. Either it was incredibly weak, or Ryouga had a hide of steel.

Apparently, it was going to be more of a challenge to defeat Ryouga than he imagined. But every man has a weakness, and the newcomer figured that for Ryouga, that weakness was a certain girl with chestnut hair and a huge friggin spatula on her back.

At least he thought it was a girl...

----+----

Ryouga stood triumphantly over the burning husk that used to be a robot. Checking inside the cockpit, he found Tsubasa was knocked out and in bad shape, but still alive. He wiped off his brow and let out a sigh of relief.

Ukyou came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, hon! I owe ya one." Ryouga turned to her and gave her a disappointed look, which caused her to flinch. He, then, walked over to his pack, put it on his back and walked off campus. Ukyou lowered her gaze, mentally kicking herself for what just happened.

While the rest of the audience dispersed, Ranma and Akane walked up to her. "Hey Ucchan," Ranma started. "What was that about?"

The chef laughed bitterly. "It was all just a big misunderstanding...but instead of trying to make things right, I went with it and just made things worse. I have to apologize and get him to understand it was a mistake." She ran off to try and find her employee.

Ranma scratched his head. "Misunderstanding, huh? That doesn't surprise me at all."

Akane sighed, "Well, if we're going to get Ukyou and Ryouga together, we're going to have to help them smooth this out."

"You're right. C'mon, let's go!"

Akane grabbed her fiancée, "It'll have to wait until after school.

"Aww..."

----+----+----+----+---- 

Somewhere in town, a group of girls were in a secret meeting, planning their next tactical strike against the seemingly endless array of perverts that populated the town. The group was made of at least twenty girls attending various high schools in the area, each of whom were accosted at one time or another by a certain martial arts master with a penchant for stealing women's underwear and sneaking into the women's area in bathhouses. Many of the girls in question were accompanied by their mothers, who have either also been the troll's victims, or were just attending out of concern for their daughters.

The founding member of the group was a woman nearing middle age. She had short, black hair slicked back with a few thick strands falling to either side of her face. The bluish dress suit she sported with the skirt three inches above her knees, and the jacket covering a white blouse with a couple of the top buttons open gave her an air of allure and professionalism all at once. Pushing up the wire-rimmed glasses that rested on her nose, she walked up to the podium in front of the group and called everyone to attention.

"Welcome ladies, and thank you for coming to this emergency session. It would seem there is a new pervert in town. We have caught this man in the vicinity of one of the more infamous lechers of the area, Happousai. Unfortunately, we have little information to go on regarding this fiend, but rest assured, our agents in the field will do all they can to gain more knowledge on him so we'll know best how to handle him." There was a lot of chatter upon her announcement. There were already a great number of perverted individuals in town. Worry spread among them, seeing as though their battle for safety was being lost.

"Please, ladies. There is no need for alarm. Fortunately for us, he seems to be quite incompetent as a pervert, as he has not managed to escape from justice yet. As it is now, he's just a minor nuisance. However, he does still bear some investigating. Hopefully, he can still be reasoned with and can be learned to treat women with the respect they deserve." This was met with some guffaws from the crowd. They weren't that convinced.

"This, however, wasn't the reason we were summoned here today. There is some pressing business we need to attend to, and for that, I will give the floor to Miyabi Narita."

The founder of the group stepped away from the podium, replaced by the girl who inadvertently rescued Ryouga and Ukyou from their attacker earlier. She cleared her throat and began her address. "Thank you Ms. Takahashi and thank you again, for come on such short notice, ladies. It has come to my attention that there could be a problem with our name. It would seem that unfortunately our current name may be sending the wrong message to the public regarding our mission."

"What in the world is wrong with our name?" asked one of the women in the audience.

Miyabi answered, "Perversion Elimination and Resistance Volunteer Squad...that would make us P.E.R.V.S. We'd be named for the very thing we're fighting against." The women in the group collectively gasped, just realizing the stated fact was true.

"My sentiments exactly," Miyabi continued. "After consulting with Ms. Takahashi about this, she has authorized me to come up with a different name. Also, it is hopeful that with this new, more inclusive name, we can recruit some of the good men of Nerima to help us battle against this scourge that threatens our fair city. And with that, I bring before you, our new name!" She presented a large poster with the new acronym for the group. Once again, all of the women in the group gasped in horror. Not noticing the reaction she was getting, Miyabi proudly spelled out what the acronym meant, "People United for Stopping Salacious Individuals!"

Needless to say, the new name was NOT adopted.

----+----+----+----+---- 

----+----+----+----+----  



	4. Where Do You Want To Go Today?

Ukyou opened the door to her restaurant and flicked on the light. After the battle between he and Tsubasa, Ryouga disappeared. She tried to follow him to set the misunderstanding straight, but she quickly found that when he wanted to go away, he could not be followed. She had hoped he would've found his way back here, but by the looks of the place, no such luck there either. With a sigh, she closed the door behind her and sat down at the bar.

What in the world was his problem anyway? Okay, sure she lead Tsubasa to believe that she was in love with someone else and sure, she did have Ryouga in mind when she was fabricating that story, but how in the world was she to know that Tsubasa really knew anything about him? As far as she was aware, Tsubasa and Ryouga had never even met until the fight.

She sighed again and looked at her empty shop. She supposed there was no point in going back to school. She didn't really feel like doing anything now, nor did she want to go back and face all of those students and their questions, which she knew would be coming. But she'd still have to open up the restaurant later on. Fortunately, no one ever really bothered her while she was cooking. But now, she had to prepare to do everything by herself.

Ukyou shook her head, trying to get herself out of the funk she was slowly sinking into. So what if she had to run the restaurant by herself? It's not as if she hadn't done it before. She had run the place by herself since she opened up. So what was the big deal about now? It'd be just like old times.

That was, of course, what the problem was. Things would never really be 'just like old times' again, would they? Without the dream of one day being able to care for Ranma the way she was caring for her customers, it promised to be a very long day. And without Ryouga to distract her, which he was very good at, constantly wandering off in between deliveries to customer tables, she would be stuck thinking about all that she fought for in vein. If that were the case, she didn't think she would be able to handle that either. Since she was the boss, she did have the option of keeping the place closed, at least.

Once again, the thought of just up and leaving crossed her mind. Not only was the town filled with memories that made her sad and bitter, but it seemed as though the town brought her bad luck in regards to her relationships between friends and potential lovers. Ryouga's words from before came back to mind. She shouldn't have to run away because of what others made her feel. He was right, of course. She was strong. It may take some time, but she would eventually get through everything that was coming down on her and in the end, make her even stronger. Though, she did wish she wouldn't have to endure that time alone.

At any rate, if Ryouga wanted to come back, he will wander by sooner or later. As she started to put her schoolbooks away upstairs, there was a knock on the front door. Ukyou smiled. "Speak of the devil..."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Where do you want to go today?"

-

The, as yet, unnamed newcomer had to admit he was impressed. Following Ukyou back to her place of abode, he expected to find a house or an apartment complex, not a restaurant. There had to have been some wealth for her or her parents to have one. This could be a great opportunity to take and hold her for a ransom...that is, if he were that type of person. Fortunately for her, he wasn't. He despised people like that and despised the thought of having to stoop to such a level. But he had to do what he had to do. Ryouga would definitely come if he had his girl with him, (and he was pretty sure now it was a girl) and the lost boy would be at his mercy.

He grinned at the thought: Ryouga beaten and battered, lying at his feet begging to be put out of his misery. For all the hell he had put him through, the bandanna-clad clod deserved far worse. It wasn't as if he couldn't take Ryouga on his own. Even with Ryouga's near indomitable constitution, he was sure he would be able to defeat the lost boy one on one. But, he had to have an ace up his sleeve he could fall back on, just in case something stupid happened. He came to far now to have anything stupid happen.

He peered around the corner from his hiding spot. It had been quite a while since she entered the restaurant and no one entered or left since. He would need to break inside first to ensure she was alone. It just wouldn't do for someone to jump out of a room to stop him from his odious task. He sighed and steeled himself. "Well, here we go..." He took a step forward and immediately stopped. "Geez, who is this now?" he lamented as someone walked up to the restaurant door and knocked.

----+----

With his schoolbag in hand, Ranma sprinted toward his friend's shop. He didn't look forward to going back home. He promised Akane after the fight that they would wait to stick their noses into Ukyou and Ryouga's business, but he just couldn't wait (besides, anything that could get him out of school was a good thing, in his opinion). So he decided to excuse himself from school during lunch. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth (and probably pounding with mallets) are sure to await him once he returns to the Tendo abode.

Those were things he'd have to worry about later, though. Right now, his concern was helping to patch things up between his friend and his rival. He trotted up to the door of Ukyou's restaurant and knocked on her door. 

----+---- 

Ukyou trotted over to the door and unlocked it. Inwardly, she really hoped Ryouga used the time to cool off. With any luck, Ryouga would be calm enough to talk so she could smooth things over. She had gotten used to him being around and would hate to lose such a good friend and employee over such a stupid misunderstanding. She opened the door, "Ryouga!"

Ranma raised his eyebrow, "Not quite..."

Ukyou's shoulders slumped, "Oh...hi Ranchan." Just great...as if she didn't feel bad enough.

"Nice welcome for a friend." Ranma said.

"Sorry. Come on in." She allowed her ex-fiancée in and locked the door behind her. Ranma sat down at the bar, putting his bag down next to him and Ukyou went to the back to get the two of them a drink from her refrigerator. "So, how are things with you and Akane?"

Ranma nodded, "Not too bad. Though, I'm sure she's gonna be angry with me for skippin' school."

"She's right to be," Ukyou said. "From what I've heard, you've been out a lot lately. If you keep this up, you'll have to repeat the grade next year." Ukyou laughed, "If your goal was to be in school as little as possible, you're going at it entirely the wrong way."

"Err..." Wow...Ranma hadn't thought about it like that. His skipping school would ensure him having to go longer? That left a very bad taste in his mouth. School was so boring...it was hard for him to stay still and listen to the teacher drone on and on about stuff he probably would never need in the real world anyway...but choosing between that and having to go to that stupid school longer..."I guess I'm gonna need to do some major studyin' then..."

Ukyou smiled slyly, "You know, you could come over and we could study together."

"Oh yeah?" went Ranma. "That'd be great! I'll...wait...no. I shouldn't. I doubt Akane would appreciate that." Ukyou shrugged. It was worth a try. "So, how about you?" Ranma asked. "What's this I hear about you and Ryouga bein' in love and havin' a baby?"

Ukyou did a spit take, "WHAT? BABY?"

Ranma, now female, made a disgusted face, "Awww gross...aren't you supposed to DRINK somethin' before you do that?" She noted the two drinks on the counter, still unopened.

"Oh geez, sorry! Sorry!" went Ukyou, waving her hands in the air frantically. Quickly, she got a damp washrag and a kettle of heated water and offered it to her guest. Ranma took the rag and cleaned herself off. "I'm sorry about that, Ranchan...I'm sorry!"

"Ugh...don't worry about it..."

"Where in the world did you hear about a baby?"

"It's been running through the rumor mill at school."

"Ranma, hon; you of all people should know better than to believe any of the stupid rumors that go through school. I can assure you, there is NO baby."

"So, you and Ryouga...?"

"Just friends." Ukyou opened her drink and took a swig. "Probably not even that anymore. The other part of that rumor was kinda started by me. I was hoping it would get Tsubasa off my back. You saw how well that worked. Ryouga's probably upset with me now because I used him against Tsubasa."

Ranma poured the kettle of heated water on herself, turning into a male again. "Hey, you shouldn't worry about that too much. Ryouga isn't the kind of guy to hold a grudge...oh wait...yes he is." Ranma thought for a second. "Well...he's not the type to stay mad over something like this...oh...no, he'd do that too." He scratched his head.

Ukyou glared at him, "You're not making this any better, you know."

"Well, let's put it like this; Ryouga can be a reasonable guy when he wants to. I'm sure once he calms down, the two of you can sit down and set things straight. An' I could smack him upside the head to make sure he sits down long enough to listen to ya."

"Sounds good," Ukyou said, without the conviction needed to say she actually believed it. "Of course, that depends on whether he actually comes back for us to talk. Who knows where in the world he is?"

"Feh, one thing I know about Ryouga; he never stays gone for very long." Finally cleaned off, Ranma decided to open up his drink and take a swig as well. As he did, he locked eyes with her. He could see the profound sadness in her features. Could she really be this sad over Ryouga? Even after she said they were just friends? Ranma may have been dense regarding matters of the heart, but he wasn't totally oblivious to them. Surely there had to be more between them than he thought.

But when Ukyou could no longer hold their gaze, Ranma knew there WAS more...just not what he thought. Part of her sadness came from their own history and their failed engagement. Guilt began to overwhelm the pigtailed martial artist, knowing he was partly responsible for her dower mood. He could kill his father for all of those fiancées he saddled Ranma with. Ukyou, especially, didn't deserve any of the pain she was going through. Ranma was determined to make things right with her and he was determined to make sure his father would as well.

Ranma stood up, "Guess I'd better go. Maybe I could sneak back into school without anyone noticing."

"Hey, Ranchan...thanks for trying to help." Ukyou said with a weak smile.

"Hey, what're friends for?"

----+----

Ranma ran out of Ukyou's restaurant, headed back to school. By this time lunch was over and Akane would have noticed he's missing. Talking about making amends, he knew he'd have to do some serious smoothing over so Akane wouldn't be too upset with him. Stupid girl would probably yell at him for leaving school, then punt him right back out. He loved her, but man, could she be irrational.

As for Ukyou...he really did feel bad about everything that happened between them. As much as he wanted to make it up to her, he had no idea what to do about it. He thought helping her and Ryouga get together...or get back together would help things, but looking at her, he suddenly felt that wouldn't be enough. Of course, he and Akane would give them a push to get together (He refused to call it 'matchmaking'. The word made him cringe.) but he had to do something more.

Suddenly, he stopped. "Aww man...I left my stupid school bag at Ucchan's place..." Spinning on his heel, Ranma started right back to his friend's restaurant. He shook his head. By the time he got back to school, all the classes would be finished and Akane would browbeat him in front of the entire student body. He may as well go right back home after leaving Ukyou's.

He walked back up to the door and checked it. Fortunately, it was still unlocked from when he exited through. He wouldn't have to wait for her to come and unlock it, which would save him precious few seconds. He opened the door and closed it back behind him. "It's just me, Ucchan! I left my bag..." Ranma gasped as he saw Ukyou unconscious with some strange guy hovering over her. "HEY! What do you think you're-"

Without a word, the intruder charged the handle of the umbrella he was wielding with his ki and dashed forward, striking Ranma in the gut. The force of the attack knocked Ranma backwards through Ukyou's front door. He came to rest on the sidewalk just in front of her doorway.

"So sorry," said the intruder. "But I can't afford any interruptions right now." He scooped up Ukyou's unconscious form and slung her over his shoulder. He then, pulled out a note and dropped it on Ranma's torso. "When you wake up, make sure Ryouga gets this." And with that, he calmly walked away.

----+----+----+----+---- 

In the front yard of the Tendo home, Kasumi tended to a garden she started. Money had been tighter than usual because of how much it took to rebuild the dojo; so in an effort to offset some of the food expense, she began to grow some of her own vegetables. She found, though, that along with saving a bit of money, the garden had the added benefit of being very relaxing. She hummed to herself as she watered the plants.

Things have been so peaceful since the incident with Arame but it's been rather contentious between her father, Mr. Saotome, Akane and Ranma. Since finding out the young engaged couple truly are in love and want to go through with the wedding, their fathers have been trying to push them into getting married right away. Ranma and Akane insist they want to wait until they, at least, finish high school. Kasumi agrees with her sister and soon to be brother-in-law, however, the elders of the house refuse to give in.

She sighed and continued humming. She, too, hoped that once Ranma and Akane finally admitted how they felt about each other, things would calm down. Truth be told, they have SOME, as their friends no longer show up and break things, but it's still a bit too rowdy for her tastes. Fortunately, no one was home at the moment, but just thinking about it raised her stress levels. At any rate, they were all due home at any moment and the battles were sure to begin again. So she got in all the relaxation she could before then.

Speaking of their friends, "Hello Ryouga."

Ryouga, who was passing by the front gate of the Tendo property jumped, as he didn't expect anyone to address him. "Ah...Kasumi." He bowed respectfully to the eldest Tendo sister. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here, silly."

"You...you do?" He took a look at the sign that was beside the gate and, sure enough, it read 'Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.' Ryouga shook his head. He was hoping to have gotten out of the city by now.

Kasumi turned to him and gave her usual smile, "Would you like to come in and have some tea?"

Ryouga couldn't help himself, "S-sure. Thank you. How did you know I was out there if you weren't even looking?"

"I figured you would be walking by around this time. You've walked by the front gate three times in the last half hour."

"I see..." Ryouga cursed inwardly. Stupid sense of direction. Kasumi lead him to the den where she bade him to sit at their dining table. She, then, went into the kitchen and put a kettle of water on the stove. Two cups were taken down from the cabinet, as were some fresh sprigs of tealeaves. Ryouga looked about the house and sighed. He hoped he would never have to darken their doorstep again. That place brought back so many memories, memories that were, now, painful for him.

He turned behind him to look at the steps going upstairs. It was just up those stairs that Akane cradled him in his pig form the first time. The kiss on his snout was what sealed the deal for him. It was the first time any woman ever gave him such attention, as a man or a pig. He swore he would've done anything to get Akane to be his girlfriend. And he did do just about everything...except the one, simplest method that probably would've sealed the deal. He just couldn't bring himself to say those three little words to her face to face. The simplest of methods turned out to be the hardest thing for him. And now, it was too late.

Now, to add insult to injury, life had decided to play its cruelest joke of all. Before, when he had his chances, he wanted very badly to spend time with her...any time at all. Doing so, he had hoped to get comfortable enough around her, so he could muster up the courage to tell her just how he felt. But before that could happen, something stupid would always happen. Ranma or someone else would interfere, or he would get lost someplace. Now that his chance was gone, he couldn't get lost to save his life and with his new class schedule, he was going to be spending all sorts of time with her.

Life really, REALLY sucked.

Kasumi sat down across from him, poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him. "Thank you," Ryouga said, as he took a sip.

"You're welcome." Kasumi took a sip of her tea as well. "I haven't seen you in a while. How have things been?"

Ryouga blushed slightly. "Erm...not that good. I dunno if you heard, but I kinda...almost...blew up the town."

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. She knew she had felt something looming over her since Arame's first appearance, but she didn't know what it was. "I see. I'm guessing, then, that you're doing better?"

He nodded, "Somewhat. I mean, I'm still feeling kinda bad, but back then, I was downright suicidal. Fortunately, someone snapped me out of it before I did anything too bad."

"That's good to hear." Kasumi remembered when Ranma was training to use the Shi Shi Houkodan after Ryouga beat him with it. From what she understood, one had to be feeling very bad in order to use it properly. It didn't take much to figure out what, exactly, Ryouga could've been feeling bad about. "I guess you heard that Ranma and Akane have finally admitted that they're in love with each other, hmm? You must've really loved her."

Ryouga blinked. "H-how did you know?"

Kasumi smiled again, "I would be a very bad caretaker if I didn't notice these things."

He stared down into his tea, "It's too bad Akane never noticed."

"I can't say whether she noticed or not," Kasumi started. "But I can tell you this; she saw you as a very good friend. Once a woman sees you as a friend, it's hard for her to see you as much else. You could move heaven and earth to prove your love for her, but to her, a friend is what you are and, likely, what you would always be." Well, that made Ryouga feel a lot better. Even if he did muster up the courage to tell her how he felt, he still wouldn't have had a chance in hell with her. "I wish I could've said something better, but that's just the way things are."

"I see..." Ryouga's shoulders slumped.

Kasumi reached across the table and gave Ryouga's hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay to be upset about losing someone you love, but it's not the end of the world...so you shouldn't go causing it." Ryouga sweatdropped. "I firmly believe that there is someone for everyone. It's just a matter of finding her. And I'm confident that you will. Just you see."

Her speech had its intended effect. Ryouga could feel his spirits lifting already. "Thanks Kasumi. You're the greatest."

"I'm hoooooome!"

Great...she's hoooooome! Ryouga felt his lifting spirits crashing back to Earth. Kasumi noticed his declining mood immediately, "Oh dear..." Akane walked into the den with a scowl on her face, muttering things about stupid fiancées not listening and various unpleasant ways to use mallets under her breath. It starts as soon as one of them entered the house. Kasumi took a deep breath, trying to keep her own stress level in check. "Is something wrong, Akane?"

"Just that idiot fiancée of mine! He skipped out on school today! You see, we think that Ukyou and Ryouga are a couple, but something happened between them earlier this morning. Ranma and I wanted to help them straighten things out, but since we've missed so much school lately, I suggested that we stay and finish out the day. But that moron disappeared at lunch and I haven't seen him since!"

"Oh my...you and Ukyou, Ryouga?"

Akane blinked, "Ryouga? Where?" Kasumi pointed right in front of her. Akane looked down at the table between her and her oldest sister and noticed for the first time that Ryouga was sitting there. "Ryouga! How long have you been there?"

Ryouga sweatdropped again, "Err, long enough to hear you mutter about stupid fiancées not listening and various unpleasant ways to use mallets under your breath?"

She shrugged and sat down next to him, "Listen, I'm glad I found you! I saw what happened earlier at school today. Why did you just leave Ukyou there like that after you beat Tsubasa?"

The sadness was being slowly replaced by anger. "Was there some reason why I shouldn't have just left her here? She used me! AGAIN! Even after what happened a few weeks ago, she used me, telling Tsubasa some story about how we were in love!" asked Ryouga.

Akane blinked again, "Story? So you two really aren't married and have a baby?"

Ryouga turned beet red, "B-BABY? No! Of course not!"

"Ah...I thought so," she said, nodding. "It was just some silly rumor the others at school were passing along." Oh great...two days at the school and they were already spreading rumors about him. "At any rate, I think you should really go talk to her. She was very upset when you left."

"Oh, SHE'S upset? After she used me to fight her battles for her, SHE'S upset? Forget it!"

"You know," Kasumi interjected, "it could be that the whole thing is a misunderstanding. Small things do have a bad habit of getting blown way out of proportion, especially around here. I think you should go talk to her just to see what she has to say for herself before you decide not to see her anymore."

"She's right," added Akane. "That's pretty much what she said when she ran off after you. She was very sad and wants to apologize."

He wasn't aware of any of that. She was really sad over what happened? Maybe there was something to what Kasumi and Akane were saying. If she really was sad over what happened earlier, then maybe it was a misunderstanding. Now that he was thinking about it, she try did say that she would never do anything like that...of course, that was before she did something like that. Still, he guessed it would be a good thing for him to hear her side of things just to be fair. With a sigh, he stood up and turned to Akane, "Okay, then. I'll talk to her again. Can you lead me there?"

Akane smiled, "No problem!"

----+----+----+----+---- 

Ranma opened his eyes and groaned in pain, wondering who ran him over with that truck. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and noticed he was in front of Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. The front door was smashed in...no, wait! It was smashed out. That's right, he remembered now. Ukyou had been abducted by some strange dude...obviously a seriously strong dude to have knocked him out that easily. He held his stomach that was still aching from the strike.

"Huh?" He looked down, noticing his hand brushing against a piece of paper. He opened it up and took a look.

"Long time no see, Ryouga," it read. "You have been a very difficult person to track, but now that I have found you, it's time we took care of some unfinished business. Attached to this letter is a map with the spot where you can find me marked. And just to make sure you don't blow this off, I have...persuaded your lady friend to grace me with her company. If you know what's good for her, you won't keep us waiting too long.

-Signed

An old friend."

Ranma balled up the letter and dropped it on the ground. So, it was Ryouga this guy was really after, hmm? That was just too bad. He stood up and began running to the spot marked on the map. This guy was going to get a whole lot more than he bargained for.

----+----+----+----+---- 

----+----+----+----+----  



	5. Hi! My name is

Ryouga and Akane stared in shock at the front of Ukyou's restaurant. The door was in splinters at their feet and the proprietor was nowhere to be found. A quick investigation inside revealed Ranma's schoolbag. He had been there as well, but he too was nowhere to be found. Ryouga ran upstairs to see if anything had been stolen, or if he could've found some clues as to what went on, leaving Akane outside pacing back and forth wracked with worry.

What in the world could've happened? Could Ranma and Ukyou have gotten in a fight? True, Ranma did have the abrasive personality to set anyone off and Ukyou had lashed out at him before. But then what? Where were they? There wasn't enough damage to the surrounding areas for a protracted struggle...nor were there any damage roofs to signify a boot into the air scenario. Something out of the ordinary had to have happened.

Ryouga came back downstairs and shrugged. "Her huge spatula is still inside too, but I couldn't find anything else." Now that made Akane really worried. It couldn't have been a fight between them, then, because Ukyou would never willingly go into a fight without it.

Even though he put on a brave front, Ryouga was worried too. He strapped her huge spatula to his back and continued to look around, hoping he missed something. He couldn't help but figure it was all his fault. If he had heard her out from the beginning instead of walking away in a huff, chances were good he would've been there for her to stop whatever it was that happened to her. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if anything happened to her. Looking at the debris on, Ryouga noticed something that didn't fit. "Akane, what's that by your feet?"

"Hmm?" Akane looked down and noticed for the first time the balled up pieces of paper by her feet. She picked it up and unfurled it. "Ryouga! This looks like a challenge letter...to you!"

"Me?" asked Ryouga. She handed him the crumpled papers, which he read. He didn't recognize the handwriting, nor did he have any idea whom he could have unfinished business with, save Ranma. And Ranma wasn't the type to do challenge letters. Nor was he the type to, as the note indicated, kidnap someone. He studied the map that was attached to the note. "Akane, can you lead me to this place?"

She looked at the map, "That's not too far from here. Let's go!"

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Hi! My name is..."

-

What a strange dream. Ryouga was upset with her because of some stupid misunderstanding that lead to he fighting Tsubasa. And while she was alone, some stranger broke into her home and kidnapped her. That was, of course, stupid. Akane was always the damsel in distress in that area. With the amount of times she got kidnapped, everyone managed to see the world...twice. Such a thing wasn't even unheard of for Shampoo. Of course, no one alive would ever want to deal with that purple haired hussy...except maybe Mousse. Even he got tired of her and went to someone else. She had to have some ghost cat take her.

But Ukyou? No way. Ukyou was the strong one. She wasn't one of those fair maidens who would get whisked away by a villain, waiting for some knight in shining armor to rescue her. Any villain tried to play that with her would get a mega-spatula in the face for their troubles. She wouldn't even use that as a ploy to ensnare a guy she liked; she wouldn't even dream of doing those kinds of games...usually.

That little mix-up with Ryouga and Tsubasa still played havoc with her mind. She had no idea what possessed her to run behind Ryouga like that to fight her battle for her. More than that, what was with that hug-press-"oh honey" thing? Now that she thought about it, that was way over the top. With the way Ryouga was, doing stuff like that could give him the wrong idea. She had to admit, Ryouga was a decent guy and all, but with everything that she had been through with Ranma, she really didn't want to get involved in another romantic mess. Of course, if she were to go down that road again, she supposed Ryouga wouldn't be a bad guy to...

Woah! Hold it! Stop right there! Don't even think about anything stupid like that! Let's just wake up from the dream and go on about the day, hmm? Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and she immediately regretted returning to the land of the awake and aware. The world seemed to be spinning out of control around her. Not only that, but there seemed to be this awful scent in her nose and taste in her mouth that made her want to gag.

"Hello, sleepy head. Enjoy your nap?"

Her eyes flew open at the unfamiliar voice, catching the sight of her abductor. Crap, so it wasn't a dream. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice slurring slightly.

"I am your host for the moment. By the way, I must apologize for that. I think I used a bit too much chloroform when I put you to sleep. I don't have much experience in this whole kidnapping thing."

"What do you want with me?" she asked, going down the list of standard kidnapping victim questions.

"You? Nothing. You're merely the bait for my true prey!"

Ukyou felt a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she was sure it wasn't from whatever chemicals he used to render her unconscious. "Bait?"

"Yes. Bait. Soon, your lover-boy, Ryouga Hibiki, is going to come valiantly to your rescue. But what a surprise it will be for him to find me, a blast from his past standing in the way, ready to settle an old, festering grudge. I'm sure he's going to do everything in his power to keep you safe from harm...in fact, I'm counting on it. I happen to know that Ryouga has grown stronger since our last encounter...a lot stronger. Of course, I know I could beat him easily still. But it never hurts to have an insurance policy. That would be you. You are his weakness and I intend to use that advantage to its fullest!"

While he was jabbering on and on, Ukyou took in her surroundings. It appeared they were in Nerima's central park. The sun was deep into the western horizon, which meant she had been unconscious for quite a few hours already. She also noticed she was leaning against a pole of some sort...from what little she could make out from her vantage point, it was probably one of the support poles for the monkey bars. She figured she wouldn't be able to power her way out of this situation. It would require a bit of finesse for everything to turn out right. She reached into a hidden pocket of her school uniform, pulled out one of the mini spatulas she kept there and began cutting away at her bonds.

It was then she noticed her kidnapper waving his hands in front of her. "Hello!" he said. "Have you heard a single thing I said?"

"Yeah, yeah. Kidnap me, hold me hostage, use me against Ryouga, blah blah blah. What makes you think Ryouga is even going to come for me?"

"Pfft. He'd be even less of a man than I gave him credit for if he wouldn't come for his woman."

"Excuse me? What exactly do you mean by 'his woman'?"

Her kidnapper looked at her, confused. "That's what you are, aren't you? After all, you've been married for four years and have two kids, right?"

Ukyou would've facefaulted if she weren't tied down. "Let me guess; you've been spying on us in school and while you were there, you overheard some rumors about us, right?"

"That's right."

"Heh, that's wrong. Ryouga's an employee and a friend. Nothing more. And as far as I know, he's not even in town anymore. You've just gone through a whole lot of trouble for nothing."

"I don't think so," he said. "I've been tracking Ryouga for a very long time. I've never gotten this close to him before. Usually, by the time I reach a town where I think he is, he's usually packed up and moved on. There's something rooting him here to this infuriating town. Even if he's not here now, I have a feeling he will be back. Of course, you will have to remain my guest until the time comes when he does show up again. I mean, friend or lover, if Ryouga doesn't come for you, he wouldn't be much of either, would he?"

This guy just didn't know what he was talking about. Ryouga was gone. Even if he did come back, there was no guarantee he would try to rescue her. No doubt he would still be upset about the slight she committed against him. No, she was going to have to get out of this mess herself. Ukyou checked the rope that tied her hands to the pole and found she had cut through it well enough that one good yank would free her. All she needed now was a distraction so he wouldn't notice her getting away.

Ukyou smiled. This guy was quite longwinded. All she needed to do was get him started and he should be able to distract himself. "Who are you? What in the world do you have against Ryouga anyway?"

"What do I have against Hibiki?" He scratched his chin, "My dear, that's quite a list. I could go on for quite some time with the amount of grievances I have against him. However, what started it was the time we spent in the dojo...I was the crown jewel in that school. All who challenged me fell to my hands...everyone there feared me...even a few of the instructors. But that all changed when HE showed up. Once he appeared, everything changed. I fell from grace. All of the fear everyone had for me turned into contempt. Even after he left, I could never emerge from his shadow. But that wasn't the worst of it...oh no! It was because of him, something far worse happened...a bane to my existence that haunts me even to this day! But I won't get to that now. It's far to infuriating to mention.

"As for who I am...well, that wouldn't matter to you much, would it? But the least I could do, as a proper host, is introduce myself. My name is-" He stopped long enough to notice that during his long speech, Ukyou had broken free and was already turning the corner out of the park. "Hey!"

'That must be how he intends to exact his revenge,' Ukyou thought as she ran. 'He's going to talk Ryouga to death!' She ran down the sidewalk next to the brick wall that separated the park from the street. Obviously, her restaurant wasn't going to be a safe place for her to stay, she already having been kidnapped from there. As much as it may hurt having to go to him, the only person she could think to ask for help now was Ranma. Hopefully, she should be safe from the chatterbox with him and the Tendos.

Just before she reached the end of the block, the brick fence exploded in front of her, with her kidnapper jumping out of the dust cloud. She got into a defensive position, instinctively reaching behind her for her mega-spatula. "Tsk...I forgot it's not with me."

He stalked up to her, "You ask for an introduction and you run off before I could give it? How rude."

"What can I say," retorted Ukyou. "You kept droning on and on. I just got bored and left."

"Hmm...I see your point. I do have a bad habit of rambling, don't I?" He leveled his umbrella at her, with the bladed tip glowing and pointed dangerously close to her throat, "Well then, what say we cut to the chase?"

Before he could do anything, there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to get rid of the person interrupting his business and was met with a fist to the face that propelled him back through the wall into the park. 'What in the world was that?' he thought, as he picked himself up off of the cool grass. 'It looked like a fist, but it felt like I was hit in the face with a car!' He looked up and saw a familiar looking man with a red Chinese shirt, a pigtail and a very mean looking snarl.

"That's what you get for sucker punching me!"

"Ranma!" cried Ukyou.

"You okay, Ucchan?" Ranma asked her.

"Yeah," she answered. "You came just at the right time."

The kidnapper stood up and brushed himself off, cursing at the patches of green that refused to budge from his suit. "Damn it! Do you have any idea how hard it's going to be to get these grass stains out?"

Ranma cracked his knuckles, "You got a lot more to worry about than grass stains, buddy. Just who in the world are you, anyway?"

"A person who wasn't interested in a fight with anyone else but my intended prey. However, if you insist, I'll happily oblige you." He brought his umbrella to bear again, infusing it with his ki. "And remember my name, as you will be repeating it over and over again in agony once you're lying broken at my feet! It's -hurk-!

Ranma grabbed him by his tie and sneered. "You know? Now that I think about it, I don't really care what your name is." He punched the kidnapper in the face again, causing him to slam into a nearby tree.

The kidnapper pushed himself up on his elbows and shook his head clear. 'Just great. Not only is he incredibly strong, but he's fast too. I had no idea there was anyone else this powerful around.' He looked at Ranma again and his eyes widened. His tie was still in the pigtailed martial artist's hands, ripping apart after his last attack. A smoldering rage filled the newcomer. That was his favorite tie and now it was ruined. He didn't care how ridiculously strong that guy was. He was going to pay for that.

He stood up again and charged, stabbing and slicing at Ranma with the glowing edge of his umbrella. Ranma, however, managed to dodge every one of his strikes. The pigtailed martial artist seemed to be reading his movements, instantaneously predicting where the umbrella was going to go and reacting accordingly. With that in mind, the newcomer feinted towards Ranma's face hoping for a particular reaction. Ranma gave it to him by leaning towards the right and back slightly, which left his abdomen wide open.

"REIKI TSUUDAKEN!"

The hilt of the newcomer's umbrella was enveloped by the newcomer's ki and he struck Ranma in the midsection again, causing Ranma to crash through another section of the wall and across the street, embedding him in the building on the adjoining block. The newcomer chuckled to himself. This Ranma guy was pretty good, but clearly, he was nowhere near as advanced as he was. Time to put an end to this. "KIHAKU SETSUDANKI!" With the hilt of his umbrella in hand, he swung the bladed end in an arc, making a razor sharp crescent shaped energy attack.

Seeing this new attack coming, even while embedded in that wall, Ranma willed his confidence to the surface, leaving not one trace of doubt he would be able to defeat this guy. Whoever he was, he wasn't going to get away with that sneak attack earlier, nor would he get away with kidnapping Ukyou. His own ki now bursting from the seams, Ranma dislodged himself from the wall and returned fire, "MOUKO TAKIBISHA!"

Ranma's beam destroyed his opponent's crescent attack and struck him full on in the chest, knocking him backwards through two more trees, finally coming to rest in a sandbox. The newcomer rolled over on his back and stared up into the growing dusk. Looks like that Ranma guy was at a more advanced level than he gave him credit for. How could he have underestimated this guy that badly?

As Ranma gingerly made his way back to the park, Ukyou ran up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Ranchan, you okay?"

"Sure. I've taken a lot worse before." It was only half true. With that last hit striking the same place as before, he was having trouble catching his breath. This guy may not hit as hard as some of Ranma's previous opponents, but he seemed to make up for it by knowing where to hit.

Great. That guy was coming for more. The newcomer picked himself back up off the ground and readied himself for the next assault, cursing his luck. 'Damn it all!' he thought. 'So close! I was so close to finally facing off against Ryouga in battle again. I was so close to beating him to a pulp for what he did to me! It figures I'd run in to someone like this before I even got to Hibiki. Damn it, what else could go wrong?'

"Look! They're over there!" Well, that answered that.

Turing around, Ranma and Ukyou found Ryouga and Akane climbing over the debris of the wall to enter the park grounds. For her part, Ukyou was nearly moved to tears seeing that Ryouga, indeed, had come for her. Of course, she'd never embarrass herself by breaking down like that in front of anyone else. Still, she couldn't help letting out a long sigh of relief. Ryouga went up to her and asked, "Are you okay, Ukyou? You weren't hurt or anything, were you?"

She shook her head and smiled, "I'm fine. Thanks for proving me wrong."

He gave her a confused look, "Huh?"

"Forget it."

"Erm...okay. Oh, I almost forgot. Here you go." He removed Ukyou's mega-spatula from his back and handed it to her.

"Thanks. This is just what I needed to pay a certain kidnapper back for his...'hospitality'." Ukyou grinned evilly at him. He cursed again. That's what he got for asking such a stupid question.

"So, Ryouga," Ranma started. "This guy's here for you. Mind filling us in on who he is?"

Ryouga gave the newcomer a once over. "Hmm...To tell the truth, I don't know who this guy is."

The newcomer raised an eyebrow...one of the few spots on him that wasn't sore. "Are you sure you don't recognize me, Hibiki? Take a good, long look."

Ryouga looked him over again. Now that he thought about it, the guy did look familiar. The sneering attitude, the suits and the umbrella with the blade on it...he just couldn't place where he could've seen him before, though. In all of his journeys, he had met so many people, so it was difficult for him to pin down where or when he could've met this person. Beyond that, the only thing he had on his mind at the time was revenge against Ranma. Ever since they were in middle school, Saotome had tormented him and from that time on, the thirst for vengeance fueled Ryouga, spurring him on and shutting everything else out.

Wait...school...he could feel a connection being made. He must've met this guy in a school someplace. He could vaguely remember stopping off at various martial arts schools during his initial journey to pick up some techniques he could use along the way. Ryouga was sure that at one of those schools, he met another rather arrogant martial artist that liked to lord his superiority over the other students. And if he remembered correctly, that other guy's weapon of choice was an umbrella with a blade on the end. Not only that, but when classes weren't in session, he also liked to parade around in expensive looking suits.

Ryouga looked him over one more time. It couldn't have been the same guy, could it? If he remembered correctly, that other guy was rather portly. But it had been so long since those days; he could've changed a lot. Couldn't hurt to enquire. "Your name wouldn't happen to be Oswald Cobblepot, would it?"

The newcomer sweatdropped. "Please. Don't insult me by mistaking me for that bird brain."

Okay, so that wasn't his name. Made sense too. No plastic surgery in the world could've fixed that Cobblepot guy's face. Still, if that wasn't him, then who? Ryouga's eyes widened. There was another one he knew of nearly as arrogant, nearly as sadistic, but without the bird fetish. "But...but it can't be," Ryouga said to himself.

"So, you finally remember?"

"You-You're not Ryo Muhoshin, are you?"

The newcomer facefaulted, "NO YOU IDIOT!"

"Well then, I give up," said Ryouga with a shrug.

"After everything you've done to me, you don't even have the decency to remember my name?"

"Look, I've had a lot on my mind, especially recently," Ryouga said, defensively. "You have no idea what I've been through."

"What YOU'VE been through?" Ryouga's nemesis repeated with a snarl. "I seriously doubt anything you've been through can compare to what I've been through. Because of you, my life has been a living hell! You'd better get yourself ready, because soon the day of reckoning will come and I will pay you back a hundred fold for every indignity I've endured!" He really wanted to attack Hibiki right then and there, but since he was so beat up from his encounter with Ranma, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance. So, after making his threat, he leapt onto what was left of the brick wall to make his escape.

"Wait!" called Ryouga. "I still don't know your name!"

The newcomer turned back to him. "It's Hayate Kurogane. Remember it this time!"

Hayate Kurogane? Ryouga snapped his fingers, "Hey! I remember you now!" But by that time, he was gone.

Putting the spatula in its place on her back, Ukyou walked up to Ryouga's side, "So, do you know who that guy is?"

Ryouga nodded. "I can't believe I ever forgot that guy, but yeah. I know him. I'll tell you about him later. Right now, I'm just glad you're okay. I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if anything happened to you because I stormed off over some misunderstanding."

"I'm just sorry I caused that whole misunderstanding."

Akane smiled, "Well, it seems as though they're getting along well again."

"Good for them," went Ranma, holding his midsection.

"Ranma, you okay?" asked his fiancée.

"Nothin' a few helpings of dinner won't cure. I just hope pop doesn't help himself to mine." Ranma walked over to his rival, "Hey Ryouga. I don't know the story between you two, but I wouldn't take this guy lightly if I were you. He may not look like much, but he's a tough one."

Ryouga nodded again, "I know."

"'You've made my life hell! You've made my life hell!' I don't know about you, but that sounds awfully familiar to me," Ranma said with a grin, nudging Ryouga in the ribs.

"Oh, shut up!" he returned. 

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----

-Dedicated to the fanfics The More Things Change and The Pursuit of Happiness...ended well before their time.


	6. Story Time

The Heart of Fire.

One is said to have a fiery temperament if one is goaded into anger easily. Usually, when this happens, a person is very prone to making careless, sloppy mistakes. That was the reason Ranma usually struck his opponents with insults along with his attacks. The angrier his opponent got, the more powerful, the more dangerous they'd become, but the less likely they'd be able to control themselves properly. While they would flail about filled with rage, Ranma, still cool and collected, would turn the fight to his favor and score and easy victory.

Usually.

The Heart of Fire would get rid of that malady. It would have the same result as the Soul of Ice, but going in the exact opposite direction to get there. The Soul of Ice was a technique to deaden your emotions. While you were in that state, no outside stimulus was supposed to rattle you. You became a cold, calculating warrior, luring your opponent into your trap, which was usually the Dragon Blast of Heaven. The other, major effect of the Soul of Ice technique was the lowering of the user's temperature. When his cold ki collided with his adversary's hot ki, it would explode in much the same way hot air mixing with cold air would cause violent thunderstorms.

However, a user of the Heart of Fire would welcome those 'hot' emotions. The anger, the rage, all of the range of emotions would be brought up to fuel the user, but the user of the Heart of Fire would still keep clear control, instead of allowing his emotions to control him. With clarity of thought still on his side, the user of the Heart of Fire would be able to focus his fiery emotions and use them to his advantage instead of his opponent using it; the equal yet exact opposite of the Soul of Ice.

Also, the temperature of the Heart of Fire user would increase dramatically, much more than anyone else with just a bad temper. Again, much like the Soul of Ice, the user of the Heart of Fire had a variety of moves he could use against an opponent once he was drawn into the user's trap. Wonder what Ranma would do if he knew the Dragon Blast of Heaven was just the third level Dragon move? But then, those were secrets to be left to the Amazons. At any rate, Ranma had taken that second level move and had done things with it even fabled Amazon matriarchs never did.

The Phoenix move that was the mirror to the Dragon Blast of Heaven was Dance of the Fire Bird where both opponents would move in a spiral until they reached the center point. Once there, the user of the Heart of Fire would ignite all of the boiling hot ki into a vortex of fire powerful enough to, hopefully, defeat the user's enemy. This wasn't a move to be used against one with the Soul of Ice, however, as the hot ki coming from the user of the Heart of Fire was just what would be needed to launch the Dragon Blast of Heaven, while igniting the Dance of the Fire Bird would be impossible. On the other hand, the user of the Soul of Ice would've been wise not to launch the Dragon Blast of Heaven, as the resulting explosion would've been enough to kill the user as well at the intended target.

Mousse stood in the middle of Autumn's backyard, small flames dancing on the grass at his feet. After many weeks of practice, he had finally gained mastery over the Heart of Fire. He didn't even flinch when what appeared to be a female ninja popped out of the shadows and goosed him on the rear end. His focus was on the challenge that laid ahead, the challenge he would soon deliver to Ranma to test out his new skill. The Dance of the Firebird clearly wasn't going to cut it. He would have to depend only on the first and second level Phoenix moves, the Phoenix Inferno and the Wings of Embers.

Disengaging the technique, he smiled. When they finally do battle, Ranma won't even know what hit him. Mousse was feeling good that he finally got the foundation of his future skill set mastered and wanted to push straight ahead into his next lesson, but the skies had grown dark. No doubt Autumn would have a few words to say about him staying up all night training making him too tired to help her run the store during the day. So he went back inside to unwind from the day.

As he closed the door behind him, he heard Autumn having a conversation with another girl. That was strange. Who in the world would Autumn be talking to this late? The store was closed, after all. Beyond that, she never allowed any customers in their living area, which was where he heard the conversation coming from. Making his way upstairs, Mousse entered the living area to find out exactly whom it was that could earn such an exception from his fiancée's house rules. He found Autumn in the living room sitting on the couch beside a girl with short, dark hair with the ends pointed upwards. The most interesting thing Mousse noticed about this girl was what she was wearing...a ninja gi.

"Well, well" the ninja girl started with a devious smile. "There he is! I've met some hot guys before but you...sheesh! My hand is still scalded." She shook the offending hand, trying to cool it.

"So that was you?" went Mousse.

"What can I say?" she returned. "I just saw you standing there and I couldn't resist, so I went after those cute buns of yours. Didn't know they were such toasty buns though."

Autumn sweatdropped. "Eh...I guess I have some explaining to do, don't I?"

Mousse nodded dumbly with his mouth agape.

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Story Time"

-

What a day. It was good to finally be home; even if home was in a crazy town with a stupidly named gang of girls beating down anyone they felt was guilty of some sort of perversion, some stupid idiots who fought using giant robots, and a ton of stupidly strong martial artists who liked to make nuisances of themselves. Hayate fumbled with his keys, trying to find the right one to unlock the door to his apartment. Doing so, he entered and locked up behind himself, dropping his umbrella, kicking off his shoes and flopping down on the couch.

Finally, he had found Ryouga Hibiki! Finally, he was going to have his revenge for everything Hibiki had put him through, only it never happened. He had been thoroughly thrashed before Hibiki even arrived to the scene of the fight. What was it that girl called him? Oh yes...Ranma. That Ranma guy ruined his plan, not to mention his suit and favorite tie. He was going to pay for his interference! But first thing's first...Ryouga was still number one on his hit list.

With what was left of his strength, he grabbed his remote control and clicked on the TV, trying to relax and recuperate from the day's activities, but relaxation wouldn't come easily. The thought of revenge against Ryouga consumed him. What that Ranma guy did was pretty bad, but it paled in comparison to Hibiki's crimes.

The grumbling in his stomach and the parchedness of his throat refused to let him sit and rest. He was so focused on his plan to trap Hibiki, he hadn't had anything to eat or drink since breakfast and his stomach was letting him know it didn't appreciate being ignored. Forcing himself back up, Hayate took off his grass stained suit jacket and threw it down on the floor next to one of his shoes and went to the kitchen. He grabbed an instant dinner from the freezer and popped it into the microwave. It was times like this when he would've preferred a home cooked meal. Perhaps when he felt better, he would go shopping for some good stuff and cook something.

As he stood there waiting for the microwave to complete its task, Hayate's thoughts returned to his adversary. He cursed Hibiki's luck. No matter how close he came to finally crushing Hibiki, something would always get in the way, robbing him of his vengeance; it never failed. Who knew when the fool stumbled into his life that he would've been such a thorn in his side...

-Flashback-

Deep within the secluded wilderness of mainland China, near the area of Cheng Du, the ancestral home of the Liu family of Shu, resided the Kongming School of Unorthodox Weaponry Martial Arts. Built nearly two thousand years ago, the school was constructed in honor of one of the greatest strategic minds of that century, Lord Zhuge Liang. While noted in history as a master diplomat and tactician, Zhuge Liang, by all accounts a man unassuming in appearance, proved to be deadly when the circumstance called for it. His weapon of choice? An equally unassuming fan of feathers.

While the tales of Zhuge Liang's exploits were merely stuff of legend, the school was very much real. Just as Zhuge Liang was said to, the grand masters of the school used fans of feathers as their weapons of choice and they proved to be nearly as deadly with them as Zhuge Liang was famed to. However, the specialty of the school wasn't limited to just fans. The school was broken into various different divisions, each one specializing in a different sort of weapon. The purpose of the school was to develop servants to royal families, political leaders and visiting dignitaries that would serve as a sort of invisible force of bodyguards. After all, the last thing an assassin would expect when commissioned to take out a target was a cleaning lady who could match their deadly skill with the sword and shuriken with a mop and bucket of water.

Of course, the housekeeping division was but one section of the school. There was the culinary division, where one could learn to make the most delectable dishes one could ever taste, as well as how to kill a person with a spoon. There was the gardening division, where one could grow the most beautiful plant life in between dispatching foes with a backhoe. And, of course, there was the inclement weather division, which was HIS domain.

In the practice arena where martial artists tested their skills, none were able to match Hayate Kurogane. He was the top of his class; more to the point, there WAS no class without him. With his specially crafted umbrella, he was able to give even the division instructors a run for their money. All of the students feared the day when they were called to spar against him...much like the poor sap that was called to face him that day. True enough, every one of them fought as hard as they could to defeat him. After all, what bigger accolade could they have garnered than the title of "the student who defeated Hayate Kurogane"? But there was always that lingering doubt in the back of their minds; always one speck of fear, knowing that all it took was one slip up and their fate would be sealed. Hayate could smell that fear. He could smell that fear now.

Tentatively, his opponent made his first strike, slashing away furiously. Hayate had to give the guy his props. His form was very good and he didn't leave as many openings as most of the other students did. But openings were there, any one of which Hayate could've used to score a hit, or even end the match altogether. Of course, that wouldn't have been much fun. Hayate liked to play with these poor saps. He'd hold back most of his abilities, let them get that glimmer of hope in their eyes, making them think they stand a chance of winning, then slamming them back into their place. It was the only thing that made these sparring matches interesting anymore.

As Hayate danced around his opponent's slashing attacks, he could tell he was nearing the edge of the battle arena. A 'ring out' was an automatic loss. He could tell by the look on the opponent's face that the guy felt it was going to be an easy win for him. No doubt, he thought 'that over confident fool is so intent on making me look bad by backpedaling and dodging all my attacks, he won't even notice going out of the ring until it's too late. Doesn't matter to me how I do it, but a win is a win.' Not a bad strategy to be sure, but Hayate knew this and every battle arena like the back of his hand. He wouldn't be done in that easily.

Hayate continued backpedaling until his heel was mere centimeters away from the arena barrier. That was when his opponent made a lunging strike for Hayate's torso, expecting him to hop backwards to keep out of his umbrella's range. Hayate, however, stepped over to the left, allowing his opponent's momentum to carry him forward. It was fortunate for the poor sap that he had enough control of himself to stop before he fell out of the ring himself. Hayate couldn't help but chuckle, seeing how easily they guy's 'strategy' nearly backfired.

His opponent got visibly upset; obviously not liking the way Hayate was making sport of him. He brought his umbrella to bear and it began to radiate with his ki. Hayate raised an eyebrow; it looked as though the instructors gave him an advanced student to make a fool of. The guy swung his umbrella in an upward arch. The burst of ki appeared to fall away from the tip of the umbrella to where it was snaking rabidly on the ground towards him. Rather foolish, Hayate thought. Such a ground attack was very easily avoided. He made a quick hop into the air, allowing the ki attack to pass harmlessly below him. He looked ahead to give his opponent one of his trademark smug 'this is just too easy' looks, but he was surprised to find that his opponent was right in his face in mid air. He slammed his ki charged umbrella into Hayate's midsection, knocking the wind out of the pony-tailed martial artist and causing him to land on the ground with an unceremonious thud.

As Hayate gasped for air, he could hear the gathered crowd come to life with chatter. Someone actually scored a clean hit on him. Someone actually scored a hit. On HIM! Not one person at that dojo had ever scored a hit on him in three years. He stood up and glared at his opponent with murder in his eyes. This guy was going to get taught a lesson he would never soon forget. His own ki flaring to life, Hayate charged. The fool tried to raise a defense, but Hayate's speed caught him off guard...leaving Hayate free to catch him with the ki infused handle of his umbrella in the sternum, a move he liked to call the 'aura crusher'. Hayate followed that with another aura crusher to the guy's jaw. It was fortunate for him that Hayate was only using a half of his full strength, otherwise, there'd be a huge hole where his torso and face were supposed to be. At any rate, judging from the look of agony on the other guy, who had dropped his umbrella and was clutching his face, Hayate figured it'd be a long time before he would be able to brag to anyone about the hit he scored.

"Okay, that was enough!" said one of the teachers.

Enough? No...not quite yet. There was one more thing he had to do before the 'lesson' was complete. With a cruel smile on his face, Hayate grabbed the handle of his own umbrella and swung the bladed end.

"HAYATE NO!" screamed the teacher, but it was too late.

Hayate's cruel grin grew wider as he admired his handy work. Now, only able to manage a gurgle, his opponent stumbled back, his eyes widened by the damage done by Hayate's attack. With what seemed to be a morbid curiosity, the guy looked down at himself to see just how bad the damage was and it was every bit as severe as he thought it was. The binding of his pants had been ripped to shreds, so with nothing holding them up, his pants were around his ankles, revealing his red polka-dotted boxer shorts. The crowd of students and even a few of the teachers erupted in laughter as the guy, using one hand to hold his aching jaw and the other to keep his pants up, ran out of the ring.

Hayate brushed himself off, "Feh. Better than those Spongebob Squarepants boxers the last guy had."

The teacher stepped into the battle area with him and shook his head, "I swear, I don't know what we're going to do with you, Hayate. I just hope you didn't embarrass this guy enough that he would want to leave too."

"It's not my fault you keep recruiting thin-skinned students with such low skill levels, Instructor Zhang Chao. Besides, he's lucky that's all I did to him. If I were anyone else, I'm sure it would've been a lot uglier." Hayate wasn't one for unnecessary cruelty. He felt that the emotional scars from such public humiliations would last far longer than any physical punishment he could dish out. So far, with the amount of students that quit the division because of him, he was right. "Maybe if you got a higher caliber of student..."

Just then, there was a rumbling noise that stopped everyone in their tracks. No one at the school could tell if it was the onset of a natural disaster of some sort, or if a rival school or hostile village were attacking them. Suddenly, the eastern wall of the school exploded and a young man wearing dark green pants, a yellow shirt and matching yellow bandanna stumbled in. "S-Saotome! W-Where are you? RANMA SAOTOME, WHERE ARE YOU?" the man cried before collapsing and losing consciousness.

----

Ukyou swept up the last of the debris of her splintered door onto the dustpan and she emptied it out in her trashcan. Meanwhile, Ryouga set down the hammer and nails he used to board up her broken doorway on the bar. Fortunately, everyone knew better than to try anything with one of Ranma's acquaintances, so no one came in and looted the place while it was empty and vulnerable.

After putting her cleaning utensils away, Ukyou washed her hands and grabbed a couple of drinks from the fridge. She put one in front of Ryouga and sank into one of the dining chairs. "So?" she asked before opening her bottle and taking a gulp of its contents.

Ryouga blinked, "Huh?"

"So are you going to tell me who this Hayate Kurogane guy is? Why is it he's after you?"

"Oh...that." He shrugged, "I really can't say why he's after me. Though, I guess it would be fair to say he's quite ruthless and isn't above doing whatever it takes to get at me."

"I would agree with that," said Ukyou. "But there has to be a reason. I mean, he wouldn't just start hunting for you for nothing, right? I mean, did you steal his girlfriend? Promise to marry his sister and wandered off on her?"

He blushed, "Geez, what kind of person do you take me for? I'm not Ranma, you know."

"No badmouthing Ranchan," she scolded, obviously harboring feelings for him still. "Besides, you're a pretty cute guy yourself. I'm sure you've left a few broken hearts behind during your travels."

Ryouga shook his head. "No, some of us don't have that kind of luck with girls. Though, I guess some of that is my own fault..." He could feel himself sinking again, kicking himself for not taking the numerous chances he was given to tell Akane how he felt before it was too late.

"Okay! Okay! Forget I brought it up!" went Ukyou, not wanting her houseguest to go boom with depression. At any rate, she got the information she wanted on that train of thought. "So, if it wasn't over a girl, then what else could it have been?"

Ryouga scratched his chin for a moment. "I suppose it was because I sort of ended his 'reign of terror' at the school we attended."

She raised an eyebrow, "Reign of terror?"

"Yeah. He was something of a bully back at the martial arts school we attended while in China. He loved humiliating the other students. It was his way of reminding them just how much better he was than they were. I stumbled onto the school by accident while I was searching for Ranma. I was in pretty bad shape, but they took me in and nursed me back to health. I was going to leave right away, but they insisted that I stuck around, offering to teach me some new martial arts techniques. Knowing what I would be in for with Ranma, I could hardly refuse.

"I trained there with their beginning class," he continued, "learning all of the basics of their style using umbrellas. But the lead instructor of the department, Master...Zhang Chao I believe, took me aside and gave me special training after hours. He taught me how to focus my ki in a way that would turn my clothes into weapons too."

"Wait a minute," Ukyou interrupted. "I've heard about this 'iron cloth' technique that could turn a handkerchief into a stiletto, but I've always thought that was made up. You mean to tell me you can really do that?" Instead of telling her, Ryouga finished his beverage and tossed the plastic container into the air. He, then, took off his belt, snapped it straight and sliced the bottle in half. "Wow...the technique is real! Maybe you can show me how to do that? If I had that ability, I wouldn't have been at such a disadvantage before without my battle spatula."

"Sure, it'd be no problem," said Ryouga. "Anyway, since I already had a lot of experience with martial arts at the time, it only took me three months to rise up through the ranks of the students. By then, students are required to craft an umbrella that's suited to their strengths, so I made that umbrella you see me with all the time. During my training there, Hayate never really paid me any attention until he noticed how quickly I was advancing. Once he did, he would torment me endlessly, trying to humiliate me, force me to quit. But that just spurred me on further. In the fourth month I was there, the time had finally come where I was set to have a sparring match against him..."

-Flashback-

The sun cast its rays upon the earth brightly that day. As the crisp air whipped about, the birds sang a happy tune with no real awareness of the goings on in the human structure below them. Ryouga eagerly walked into the battle arena where he waited for his opponent. With all of the garbage he was forced to endure, he was looking forward to finally being able to return the favor. All his life, Ryouga had despised bullies and that Kurogane guy was one of the worst ones he had ever encountered. The almost sadistic pleasure he got out of the humiliation of others made Ryouga sick to his stomach and the unbridled arrogance he exuded reminded him of the person he started his quest for. Both were reasons alone for Ryouga to throttle him good.

He tapped his umbrella to the ground impatiently as Hayate finally made his way out to the battle arena. It infuriated Ryouga even more being made to wait. Hayate saw the frustration on Ryouga's face and smiled. It looked as though it was going to be another easy victory for him. Hayate had been paying close attention to that Ryouga Hibiki fellow since he quite literally stumbled onto the compound. He was pretty good and he was a quick learner. But his anger got the better of him far too easily. In fact, in a few sparring matches Ryouga had in the past, his anger caused him to lose to some of the other, lower ranked fighters.

Master Zhang Chao walked into the battle arena and stood between them. He had been spending a lot of time with Hibiki for some reason. Hayate didn't like it one bit, but they were so secretive, he couldn't even figure out what was going on. When they went off into the wilderness to do who knew what, Hayate tried to follow. But he learned long ago that when the master didn't want to be followed, he wouldn't be followed. Zhang Chao looked first at Hayate, then at Ryouga, "Okay, you two. The rules of the match are: no hitting below the belt. No sand or spit to the eyes, no hair pulling and no kill shots. The winner will be the one who scores three points, a knock out, or the one who forces his opponent out of the ring. Now, begin!"

At the word go Ryouga charged, wildly swinging his bludgeoning umbrella. As he usually did, Hayate danced around his opponent's attacks with that smug grin on his face. Ryouga growled at not being able to smack that look off of his arrogant face, but then, there was more than one way to win a duel...er, sparring match. Since going out of the ring would be considered a loss as well, all he would have to do was continue attacking, making Hayate backpedal until he dodged himself right out of the battle arena.

Ryouga pressed his attack and Hayate raised an eyebrow. Was this guy really going to try that same 'strategy' he had defeated so many times before? That was fine with him. Hayate didn't know what it was, but there was something about this Hibiki fellow he didn't like. Honor was one thing, but Hibiki seemed to have a sort of sanctimonious nobility that just irked him to no end. This wasn't a guy he wanted to play with. No, rather, this was a guy Hayate wanted to crush under heel. This was a guy Hayate wanted to defeat quickly, just to show how inferior he was; just to show where all that nobility stuff would send you in the end...face first into the dirt, looking like a clown.

Hayate continued backpedaling until his heel was mere centimeters away from the arena barrier. That was when his opponent made a lunging strike for Hayate's torso, expecting him to hop backwards to keep out of his umbrella's range. Hayate, however, stepped over to the left, allowing his opponent's momentum to carry him forward. Instead of giving him the opportunity to right himself, Hayate made a swing with his own umbrella, intending to knock him the rest of the way out. Ryouga, however, raised his umbrella to block. The impact between the two made Hayate's insides shake.

"What the hell?" went Hayate. He stole a glance at his umbrella and noticed it was slightly bent where it hit Ryouga's. "What in the world is that thing made of?"

Sensing he now had an advantage, Ryouga charged again, swinging furiously. Hayate again dodged every strike, but with a little more urgency. There WAS something different about this guy. It looked like playtime was over. If Hayate were going to defeat this guy, he would have to fight a little more seriously. Ryouga lunged forward trying to strike Hayate's torso. Hayate dodged left, allowing Ryouga to pass by and, charging his umbrella with his ki, hit Ryouga in the back with his Aura Crusher, causing the bandanna clad warrior to fall to the ground. It shouldn't have been enough to paralyze him permanently, but it should be enough to where he wouldn't be able to walk for a day or two.

To his amazement, though, Ryouga stood to his feet and scratched his back, "Geez, that really stung!"

"Point to Hayate!" Zhang Chao said at ringside.

Impossible! No one had ever shrugged off one of his Aura Crushers like that before! Okay, since half strength didn't do that much to him, let's turn up the power. Seventy-five percent should do the trick. This time, Hayate attacked, swinging the bladed end of his umbrella. Ryouga, however, managed to dodge every one of his strikes. This proved very troubling as well, since no one had been able to match his speed before either, but Hayate kept focus. His primary target was his opponent's back, where he had struck the first time. There was a small imprint of his ki left to show where he should hit. No matter how strong he was, surely he'd weaken and succumb to the effects of the attack if he were hit in the same spot enough.

Hayate feinted a slashing strike at Ryouga's shoulder, which Hibiki attempted to dodge. Hayate used that opportunity to slip behind him and struck him with the ki charged umbrella again in the same spot. Once again, Ryouga was sent rolling on the ground, coming to rest right at the edge of the battle arena. Seventy-five percent...surely he felt it that time.

Ryouga had a little more trouble standing up, but stand he did. He put a hand over the spot on his back where he was hit and winced. "Damn! That really hurt!" This time, Hayate growled. Hibiki felt it, all right, but it would seem that's all it did to him.

"Another point to Hayate," said Zhang Chao.

Enough of this. All he needed to do was get one last shot on Hibiki and the match was over...either that or knock him out of the ring. Either way, Hayate was going to end this. He charged his umbrella the rest of the way, intending to hammer Ryouga at full power. "REIKI TSUUDAKEN" Ablaze in his aura, Hayate made his final assault, streaking across the ring like a ball of fire.

-WHAM!-

Hayate watched in horror as his umbrella flew end over end out of his reach. Ryouga, who held his own umbrella over his head, having knocked Hayate's weapon away at the last moment, mocked his opponent with a grin of his own. The lost boy brought his arm back down and, like a battering ram, slugged Hayate in the gut with the point of his umbrella. Hayate flew, bouncing off the arena surface twice, from one end of the ring to the other. When he came to rest, Hayate's head and shoulders were out of the ring, touching the ground.

"Ring out!" cried Zhang Chao. "The winner of this match is Ryouga Hibiki!"

The crowd erupted in a loud uproarious cheer, celebrating the end of Hayate's three year undefeated streak. If that wasn't infuriating to Hayate enough, there was an equally uproarious laughter that mixed in with the cheer. He didn't understand why the laughter was there too, until he noticed his pants had gotten snagged in a crack in the old arena floor, pulling them down...or up considering his vantage point, to his ankles, exposing his pink-hearted boxers.

"NOOOOO!"

-End Flashback-

Ukyou laughed as hard as Ryouga remembered the crowd doing that day. "You've got to be kidding me! Pink-hearted boxers? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Yep. To tell the truth, I couldn't help feeling embarrassed for the guy."

"Oh man, that was rich! I just wish I was there to have seen it myself!" She wiped away the tears that formed from laughing so hard. "So then what happened?"

Ryouga shrugged, "I left."

"You left? Just like that?"

"Well, Master Zhang Chao thought Hayate could use a lesson in humility. He trained me with the 'iron cloth' technique in return for being the one to teach it to him. My learning their style was necessary so I could face him on a level playing field, as only the techniques used with the umbrellas were allowed in sparring matches. Master Zhang didn't think it would work coming from a teacher. Since he had so much more experience he could've defeated Hayate easily himself. He felt the lesson would be more poignant if it came from a fellow student. After I beat Hayate, my job there was done, so I left to continue my own quest. I haven't seen any of them since...until now, that is."

"Sounds to me you should've stayed to teach that lesson a few more times, since it didn't seem to stick," Ukyou commented. "So, after all that time, he's finally tracked you down to pay you back for humiliating him in front of your whole school, hmm?"

"It would seem so," Ryouga said with a sigh. And, with the condition he found Ranma in when he arrived at the scene of the fight, it would seem Hayate has gotten a whole lot stronger since those days. He wondered what the week would bring. And now, unfortunately, he had his answer. Man, wasn't stuff like this only supposed to happen to Ranma?

A lesson in humility? Why in the world did he need to be humble? He was the best in his division...probably the best in that whole damned school. That was a feat to be proud of. Because of that little 'lesson', Master Zhang Chao ruined him. After Hibiki left the school, Hayate began another winning streak. He fought hard, not giving any of his subsequent opponents an inch, but the fear and respect the other students had for him had never returned. The unbeatable Hayate Kurogane was indeed beatable. If someone could come from the streets and beat him in three months, then anyone should be able to do it.

Hayate threw his empty frozen dinner tray out of anger and frustration. Where the other students once dreaded having to face him in a sparring match, they actually came up and CHALLENGED him. Everyone wanted a piece of him...it was as if he had a target on his back. The only way, he figured, to restore his rightful place at the school was to find Ryouga and defeat him.

Still, even though he wanted to find and defeat Hibiki at that point, it was just business. It didn't become personal until nearly a year later when he suffered the most grievous indignity at the hands of Ryouga Hibiki, when he found out he had returned to China. That was when...

Hayate stopped and looked at what had just flashed on the television. Were his eyes deceiving him? There was going to be a weekend matinee at a local theater tomorrow, showing the sequel to his all time favorite move, the Transporter! Finally, something good the town had to offer. He would forget about Hibiki for a little while and indulge himself. For now, he would rest and let his body recuperate. Then, to mentally recuperate, he would lose himself in the fictional world of the only other martial artist who could kick ass and look sharp & stylish doing it.

Yes, tomorrow was movie day! 

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	7. Day Off

The first rays of the sun peered over the horizon to mark the beginning of a new day in the district of Nerima. No, not just any day: it was the day nearly every boy and girl of school age looked forward to during the week. It was the start of the weekend! After his encounter with the new idiot in town, Hayate Kurogane, and with no school looming to burden him with all sorts of junk he probably wouldn't need when he got older anyway, Ranma was looking forward to sleeping in. He figured the outside world could make due with one day without him as its whipping boy.

"Foolish boy! When are you finally going to give in and marry Akane?" Unfortunately, his father had other ideas for him. It had been a long time since Genma and Ranma had one of their morning workouts and Genma thought it was about time for one. That was usually the only time they had to themselves to talk and since their talks usually devolved into a fight anyway, it was killing two birds with one stone.

Ranma dodged his father's snap kick and returned a kick of his own, "What in the world are you an Mr. Tendo tryin' to rush us for? We already agree that we want to get married now. Ain't that enough?"

Genma caught Ranma's leg, mid kick, and tossed him over his shoulder, "If you get married today, tomorrow or next year, what difference would it make? There's really no need to wait, boy! You should get married now and fulfill our promise to unite the Anything Goes School of marital arts!"

The younger Saotome flipped in mid air, landing safely on his feet. "You mean YOUR promise! When me and Akane get married, it'll be because we want to, not because of you. That's why when we do get married, it's gonna be on our terms...when WE say we're ready. Right now, we're tryin' to do the responsible thing and finish with school and everything."

Genma snorted, "Please. You don't know the first thing about being responsible!" He leapt into the air, with Ranma following suit and they exchanged punches and kicks over the koi pond. "If we didn't force you to stay here, you would've gone right back to China on the very first day we got here, running away from your obligations the way you did from Ukyou, Shampoo and everyone else we met while on our training journey."

"Are you kidding? All that was YOUR fault! You hocked me off to just about everyone we met who had a daughter for money, food or for whatever else you wanted at the time! I'm surprised MORE people haven't come out of the woodwork tellin' me how I'm engaged to this girl or that girl. Because of you, my life has been playin' out like some stupid, badly written movie!"

"Did someone say movie?" asked Akane who popped out of nowhere interrupting them.

"WAH?" Caught off guard by Akane's sudden appearance, Ranma and Genma lost their concentration and fell into the koi pond.

Ranma, now a girl, shook the excess water off of her and glared at her fiancée. "Geez, don't do that anymore, Akane!"

"Sorry about that," Akane went, "but I heard you mention something about a movie just now. There's the great movie playing downtown that I've just been dying to see. I figured since we weren't doing anything else today, we could go watch it. Here, look at the ad!"

Akane handed Ranma a newspaper. Ranma read the marquee that was circled in red ink and immediately wanted to gag. "Ugh, you gotta be kidding me! There's no way you're gonna drag me out to see some mushy flick like this!" The red head handed back the paper. "Sorry, but no way in the world!"

Akane took the newspaper back with a look of disappointment on her face. A light bulb went off in her head and she smiled wickedly. "Hmm...you know, I think you're right Ranma. After all, you and I DO need to have a little 'talk' about you ditching school the other day when I suggested we stay to finish out the day." She cracked her knuckles threateningly.

Ranma sweatdropped. "So, er...what time does that movie start again?"

"It starts showing in a couple of hours," Akane said with a smile. "Come on! Let's hurry up and get ready!" With that, she ran back inside.

Shaking her head, Ranma let out a defeated sigh. In his panda form, Genma patted her on the back with his huge paw and held up a sign that read, "Wedding or no, it looks like you're living the married life already." All of a sudden, that trip to China was starting to look good again.

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Day Off"

-

This was just what he needed. No rivals, no little trolls getting him into trouble. No groups of women with stupid names beating him with brooms and such. Hayate sat back, popping kernels of popcorn into his mouth, watching the movie intently. He hadn't been this relaxed since he stepped foot in that insane asylum of a town. Looking around the theater, he noticed most of the seats were empty. The movie wasn't that critically acclaimed, so most of the showings of the movie were to empty houses like that one. Hayate shook his head. Idiots wouldn't know a work of art if it kicked them in their behinds. It was good for him, though, in that he had his choice of seats to place himself.

He took a sip of his soda, but noticed nothing was coming through the straw. Well, this was inconvenient. He hated to miss a second of the movie, but he just couldn't properly enjoy his extra buttery, extra salty popcorn without the extra sugary, extra carbonated beverage to complement it. It was fortunate there was a lull in the action. He hopped up and walked as quickly as he could back to the concession stand, hoping he wouldn't miss too much of the movie.

Stepping up to the counter, he made his selection, tapping the glass counter impatiently as the vender picked a cup filled it with ice and poured a few drops of soda into it. Paying the, rather outrageous seven hundred and fifty yen charge, he grabbed the cup and ran back into the theater, hoping he hadn't missed a moment of anything important.

Just as he disappeared out of view, Ranma and Akane walked into the theater. Ranma, of course, had a rather despondent look on his face, seeing that there was, at least, one action movie showing at the theater and he was stuck going to some sappy love fest. On the upside of things, it would give him the opportunity to catch up on his sleep, making up for the chance his father made him miss. One thing still didn't make sense to him, though. "Yo, Akane...when you said you wanted to go to the movies, I thought you meant you an me. Why did ya bring them along too?" He pointed his thumb back at Ukyou and Ryouga, who walked into the theater behind them.

Akane leaned in to Ranma and whispered, "We're trying to get them together, remember? What better way to start things off than with a date to a romantic movie? I'm sure the story of an unlikely couple meeting each other in unusual circumstances and falling in love would, at least, open her up to the possibility of seeing Ryouga as more than a friend."

"I dunno," Ranma whispered back. "Not sure about Ryouga, but I'm pretty sure Ucchan ain't in to these kinds of movies."

"Nonsense! What girl wouldn't enjoy a good love story?"

Behind them, Ukyou leaned in to Ryouga and whispered, "I really hope we're going to see the action movie instead of that sappy love story."

The four disappeared into the darkened room where the movie was being shown, while Hayate ran out of his. All of the soda he drank finally caught up with him and he had to make use of the theater's facilities. He stopped, looking at the group and wondered if he saw what he thought he saw. That couldn't have been Ryouga and his friends that just went into that room, could it? He shook his head, dismissing the idea and continued to the men's room, having more pressing matters to attend to.

Leading the way, Akane found a set of four seats near the front of the room. She let Ukyou and Ryouga go into the row of seats first so they could sit next to each other. Ranma filed in last and they all sat down as soon as the opening credits of the movie started to roll. The title of the movie flashed across the screen and there was a collective groan. "Now, isn't this nice?" asked Akane. The other three in her group groaned again. She glared at them, "I SAID, isn't this nice?"

"Oh yeah, sure, great!" they said, trying to appease her.

"I'm glad you think so," Akane said sweetly. "Now, let's just sit back and watch the movie without any trouble, okay?"

"Uh huh, sure, whatever you say," they said, quickly.

----+----

A half an hour passed and Hayate and the few other moviegoers who were watching the same film as he filed out of the theater. It was a shame he had to get up as much as he did, but at least he didn't miss any of the action sequences, especially the fight scene that took place in the parking garage. That had to have been the single best movie he had ever seen in his entire life...even better than the first. He hardly even got his suit messed up...too bad life didn't imitate art.

Hayate looked at his watch and saw it was still rather early in the afternoon. The day was much too good to go right back home to vegetate in front of the TV or plot any new schemes. He started walking through the downtown area, deciding to treat himself. Getting something to eat was of particular interest. Of course, after his recent experience, okonomiyaki was out of the question. However, looking at the wide variety of restaurants he wouldn't have any trouble finding a substitute.

The scent of teriyaki chicken caught his attention. His mouth watering and his stomach letting him know it agreed with his choice, he made his way to the store in question. He had to say; he hadn't felt this content in a long time. With the quality entertainment he took in, and hopefully, the food of equal quality he was about to take in, he didn't think there was anything in the world that could ruin this perfect day.

"What a haul!"

Hayate winced hearing that all too familiar voice. He knew he should've seen that one coming. The anger within him began to boil over, remembering the first few run-ins he had with the perverted pipsqueak. He owed the little man big time. But was it really worth ruining his day over? After all, there would, surely, be another time to settle that score. Besides, whatever was going on didn't involve him, nor did it have to. If he would just walk into the restaurant, whatever was going on would continue on without him. He nodded resolutely. He wasn't about to be drawn into any more chaos. Opening the door, he took a step inside.

-WHUD!-

The old man cackled as he bounded down the sidewalk with another huge sack of woman's underclothes on his back. Hayate, meanwhile, was face down on the floor, half his body inside the restaurant, half outside and very noticeable footprints etched on the back of his head. No way he was going to let that indignity slide.

Happousai continued bounding down the street, unaware of running anyone over. He just couldn't wait to get back home to catalogue the latest additions to his collection. So many articles of silk and lace, just the mere thought excited him. Hopefully, today would be the day he could get Ranma in his girl form to model some of the articles for him. He was so caught up in his perverted delusions; he barely noticed the attack from behind. He turned around just in time for a crescent shaped energy attack to strike him head on. It would have sliced him in two if his own ki didn't dull the attack. Most importantly, he managed to save his sack of goodies from harm. Happousai shook off the effects of the attack and searched through the crowd of people for the offending party. "Who would dare to attack the master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts?"

Hayate walked up to him calmly. "That would be me. Hayate Kurogane at your service. I do believe that you and I have some unfinished business that needs tending to."

The wrinkled old pervert narrowed his eyes, "You again? You haven't learned your lesson from last time, 'eh? Well, this time, I won't go easy on you, boy!" Happousai flared his impressive ki.

Unfazed, Hayate smirked and replied, "Funny, I was just about to say the same thing." He charged the old man, swinging his bladed umbrella purposefully. Even with a sack twice his size on his back, Happousai was able to dodge every swing easily. In return, Happousai grabbed the younger man's arm with his trusty pipe and tossed him into the wall of the teriyaki chicken restaurant he wanted to go to.

Hayate shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs out and bared his teeth at his opponent. These martial arts masters always liked to show up younger opponents by beating them with apparently no effort. That was the way it was back in his old school and, despite his claim to the contrary, Hayate was sure that's what the old man was doing now. Still, even if he weren't using all of his strength, the old goat was clearly more than Hayate could handle head to head. He was tired of getting kicked around. It was time to start kicking back and Hayate figured he knew how he could kick this old man's behind good.

Leading with his umbrella once more, Hayate let loose another volley of slashing attacks. Again, Happousai danced around every one with ease, but Hayate paid very careful attention to where exactly he was dodging. A stabbing thrust caused him to lean to the right. Swinging the blade to the right caused him to hop backwards. Step forward and swing the blade downward and he jumped upwards to avoid the arc...that was it! While his opponent was in the air, Hayate jabbed with his free hand. Expertly, Happousai bounced off of the arm and jumped over the youngster's head.

The old pervert landed lightly on the sidewalk and regarded Hayate with a laugh. "Heh, not a bad strategy, kid. But it was very basic. You'd need at least a hundred more years' experience before you could hope to defeat me!"

Slowly, Hayate turned his head and looked at Happousai with a grin. He held up his free hand and dangled a little prize he nabbed from the old man's sack. Happousai's eyes bugged out as the bra he stole fair and square blew lightly in the breeze from Hayate's hand. With a growl, the old man's ki exploded and he launched himself at the young fool who dared to steal one of his silky darlings from him. With his plan working for a change, Hayate waited until the old pervert was in the proper range and, using the ki infused handle of his umbrella, backhanded Happousai into the sky.

Hayate watched him streak across the sky like a shooting star until he disappeared over the horizon. "Heh, looks like I won this round, you freak," he said, smiling. Before he got too deep into gloating over his victory, something else caught his attention; a strange hissing noise. Looking down at his feet, he saw what appeared to be an average pineapple...with a fuse...a lit fuse. "Aw crap..."

-BOOM!-

Singed and with another ruined suit, Hayate flew straight up getting farther and farther away from that teriyaki chicken he wanted so badly. However, he didn't really have the time to worry about that. The world, which seemed to get smaller and smaller every second stopped moving away from him. In fact, it seemed to be getting bigger and bigger now. The explosion was bad enough, but this was really, REALLY gonna hurt...

He fell back down in nearly the same spot where he was propelled upward. In fact, he could still see the black spot and smoke where the explosion took place. But that wasn't where he was heading. He looked at where he was falling and hoped the building he was about to fall into didn't have a steel reinforced roof.

-WHAM!-

He crashed through the exterior roof of the building first, then the interior ceiling and finally down into what seemed to be a heated pool. All things considered, it ended a lot better than he thought it would have. Breaking the surface of the water, Hayate took in a big gulp of air, thankful to still be alive and relatively unharmed. If that spiteful old troll meant to cause him lasting bodily harm, he would be disappointed to find out that he failed miserably. Hayate laughed to himself, thankful that the good luck that seemed to elude him since he arrive in Nerima had come back to save him.

Of course, that was when he noticed exactly where it was he crashed. That wasn't a gym with a heated pool he managed to crash in. He was in a bathhouse. On the women's side. Being the avid fan of the female form that he was, he wouldn't normally think of this as a bad thing, but then there were all of those women in the water with him giving him very, very angry stares.

He held his hands in front of him, trying to beg off, "Now, now ladies! I can assure you, my being here is a complete accident. I'm sure if we could talk about this like the reasonable people we all are-"

"Hey! That's MY bra!" said a familiar voice. Oh goodie, it was that P.E.R.V girl, Miyabi.

Hayate dropped the offending article of clothing and backed himself against the wall. There didn't seem to be any other way out of this situation but to force his way out. He didn't like fighting girls, but wasn't above doing it if his back was against the wall. And since it was, literally, it was time to use his trusty umbrella and cut his way through. However, he found himself with one, slight problem. Even though he, somehow, managed to hold on to the bra with an iron grip, he managed to drop his umbrella. It was in clear view; unfortunately, it was behind the growing angry mob of naked women who wanted to do very bad things to him.

"Aw crap…"

----+----+----+----+---- 

Ryouga was depressed. There was nothing unusual about that. What was unusual was how it came to be. He used to love watching romantic movies like the one showing on the screen. It was something that developed after his first real encounter with Akane. Sometimes, he would imagine he was the male lead of the movie, with Akane being the female lead. Through all of the hardship, through all of the drama, through all of the heartache, the male and female leads would always end up with each other at the end. That was the way it should be. That was the way he always figured it would end with he and Akane. Being back in a setting like this with how things turned out made Ryouga's heart very heavy.

Another thing Ryouga used to do was imagine that he and Akane were on a date watching a movie like this. When Akane approached him to go to the movies, he couldn't find it in himself to say no. That very thought ran through his mind and, even though he knew he should've said no, he just couldn't help but say 'yes'. Sitting there in the theater with his rival between him and the woman who stole his heart, he knew he made a mistake going there. Still, for Akane, he couldn't just up and leave.

And on the other side of him was Ukyou. No doubt, she was felt the same as he did with Ranma there, so close, yet so far away. Still, for some strange reason, he felt a little more comfortable with her there. It was true, he supposed: misery loves company. Too bad, though. She had her flaws, but all in all he felt she was a decent person and Ryouga hated for a good person like her to feel even a fraction of the misery he was feeling. She should have a happier existence, laughing merrily the way she did during the story he told her about he and Hayate. He smiled thinking back to that recent memory...she had such a nice laugh too...

Ryouga blinked. Okay, he didn't like where that train of thought was heading. The whole situation was uncomfortable enough as it was. He didn't need thoughts like that making things worse. The movie had reached its most dramatic moment, the part where Ryouga imagined he would put his arm around Akane and rest her head on his shoulder. While at the movies himself, that was usually the part where he would stretch his arm across the back of one of the seats next to him, practicing for the moment the way he practiced for every moment he wanted with her. He had to restrain himself from doing so. No doubt, Ukyou wouldn't appreciate it, and Ranma? Bleh!

Of course, it was that moment that he felt extra weight fall upon his shoulder. Since the weight was on his right shoulder, it couldn't have been Ukyou, as she was sitting in the seat left of him. Once again, bleh! Just what in the world was that idiot doing? Ryouga chanced a glance at his rival and noticed the pigtailed martial artist was fast asleep. Of course, he'd find the movie dull and doze off. Ryouga jerked his shoulder, lurching Ranma awake.

"Huh? Wha?" went Ranma, dazed.

"Listen, if I have to sit here and suffer through this, then you'll have to also!" whispered Ryouga.

Ranma grumbled and straightened himself up in his seat. On Ryouga's other side, Ukyou looked as though she were ready to doze off too. She too regretted coming out to the movies. Her out on the town with Ranma sounded like a wonderful idea at the time, even if it was with Ryouga and Akane. Plus, after what she had just been through, a break really sounded good. At the moment, though, she wanted to be anywhere but there. Ranma was all the way over on the other side of Ryouga. He may as well have been a million miles away. Stupid Ryouga taking up such a valuable space...

Okay, he didn't deserve that. She was just so frustrated with the situation. Even if she were out with Ranma alone, what would that accomplish? He would still have his heart set on Akane; she didn't think she could do anything to change that. And she certainly wouldn't settle for being a mistress. When it came to the game of love, where her heart was concerned, it was an all or nothing deal.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what she ended up with...nothing. Nothing except Mr. Piggie over there; the walking time bomb who was just waiting to explode at the slightest ill feeling. Okay, he didn't deserve that either. She could understand where he was coming from and, to tell the truth, she'd probably do the same thing if she had his power. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she probably would've left the whole stupid down in a gigantic smoldering crater a long time ago. He's so reserved and proper; it's easy to forget exactly how strong he was. She couldn't help but admire the level of restraint he had to practice every day. And from what she's noticed of him so far, he seemed like the type of guy who would move heaven and earth to make a girl he was with happy. A girl would be very lucky to have such a man as a boyfriend. Maybe...

Ugh...not that thought again. Ukyou rubbed her temples. It must be temporary insanity due to the stupid movie she was watching. She just had to get out of there. Fortunately, Ryouga provided the perfect escape plan. She leaned over and whispered loud enough for Akane and Ranma to hear, "What was that Ryouga? You need me to lead you to the men's room?"

Ryouga looked at her, confused, "Wha-? But I didn't say-"

"I don't know why I bother with you sometimes. Come on, let's go. Excuse us." She grabbed his hand, yanked him up and started out.

"Wait! I don't need to go to-"

-STOMP!-

It took all of the restraint Ukyou was fond of for Ryouga not to scream out in pain from her stomping on his foot. "Oops, sorry hon," she whispered sweetly. "Let's go!" She lead the limping lost boy past the engaged couple and out to the lobby.

Once the door to the screening room was closed, they were able to talk a little more freely. Ryouga sat down on a bench in front of the men's room and rubbed his foot. "What in the world was that for? That hurt you know!"

"I'm sorry, I really am. I just couldn't take another moment in there looking at that movie."

"Oh...yeah. I can understand that. It wasn't a very comfortable experience for me either."

Ukyou smiled, "What say we get out of here while the getting's good?"

"What about Ranma and Akane?"

"We'll just say you wandered out of the bathroom while I wasn't looking and I had to track you down."

Ryouga shrugged, "Sounds good to me."

----+----

As soon as they stepped out of the theater, it felt as if a gigantic weight had been lifted off of their chests. After all that time they spent chasing after Ranma and Akane for various reasons, they found it ironic that now they were trying to get away from them. They walked down the streets of downtown Nerima taking in the sights, sounds and scents of the area. Neither had done so before just to enjoy the scenery and they had to admit, Nerima certainly did have its charm.

Without the ongoing quests to kill or marry someone, it was as if their eyes were finally opened enabling them to finally appreciate everything that was around them. They did pass a part that smelled like detonated gun power for some reason, but that smell was fleeting, making way for the more pleasant aromas of the flower shops and restaurants of the area.

Ukyou closed her eyes and stretched her arms over her head. Ryouga watched intently as she did so. He didn't mean to, but for some reason, when he laid his eyes on her, he couldn't take them off. When she opened her eyes, she noticed him just as he turned away with a slight blush and she smiled. She didn't know why, but she found that cute. "So, now that we've made our escape from the prison of romance, what do you feel like doing?" she asked.

"I am kinda hungry," Ryouga answered. "Let's get something to eat! Something that isn't okonomiyaki."

She raised an eyebrow, "And what exactly is wrong with okonomiyaki?"

Ryouga shrugged, "Nothing's 'wrong' with it. I just have a taste for something else." Ukyou frowned at the sentiment. "Aww, come on, you can't tell me that even you lose your taste for okonomiyaki and get a craving for something else SOME time."

"Well, it's been known to happen once in a while," she exaggerated. "Anything in particular you have a taste for?"

"How about that teriyaki chicken place we passed? I'll buy."

Ukyou smiled again, "Well, since you put it that way, teriyaki chicken sounds delicious!"

They turned around to go back to the teriyaki chicken restaurant and found their path blocked by one very irate looking Hayate Kurogane. The suit he was wearing was in tatters, with one of the coat sleeves completely ripped off. His hair was matted to his face like he was doused with water and his umbrella looked slightly bent. That's not even mentioning all of the bruises, or the scorch marks.

"Wow, looks like someone had a bad day," Ukyou observed, feeling bad for the new guy...a little anyway.

Hayate growled, "I hate that stupid, lecherous troll! I hate those stupid girls from P.E.R.V! I hate this whole stupid town! And most of all," he leveled his bent umbrella at Ryouga, "I hate YOU! My life has been a living hell from the day you stumbled into the school!" Ryouga wondered if that was what he sounded like whenever he challenged Ranma. "I don't care what it takes! I'm going to KILL YOU! Right here! Right NOW!"

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	8. And Now, the Rest of the Story

How long had it been since he sat down to watch that dreadful movie? Two, three weeks? And yet, it went on and on and on. It put him to sleep once, but Ryouga woke him up, the jerk. He couldn't take how boring the movie was, though, and went to sleep again. That time, Akane elbowed him in the ribs to wake him up. As much as he didn't want to, Ranma would have to endure this form of torture conscious.

Akane sat next to him, watching the movie intently with stars in her eyes and little hearts dancing around her head. If he was reading her expression properly, he may be in for some...interesting times when they got back home. At the moment, though, Ranma fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably, wishing someone would show up in the movie and blow something up. With luck, it'd be the house those sappy lovebirds were in while in the middle of that lovey-dovey stuff.

Ranma looked at the empty seats to his left. Stupid Ryouga, he wondered what happened to the idiot. He said Ranma would have to sit and suffer through the movie if he would have to also. Well, there he was sitting and suffering, yet Ryouga was nowhere to be found. Same with Ukyou. What could have happened to them?

He turned to his fiancée and whispered, "Hey Akane? Don't you think Ukyou and Ryouga have been gone for a long time?"

Akane regarded Ranma and noticed, for apparently the first time, that Ukyou and Ryouga had indeed been gone for quite some time. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Heh, I knew this would work. After seeing a little of this movie, they probably needed some time alone."

Of course, Ranma was skeptical. "I dunno. It's more likely they used the whole bathroom thing as an excuse for..." Ranma's eyes widened as it dawned on him what they did. It was so simple, yet so perfect. Adding Ryouga's ability to get lost was genius and made it much more believable. Time to follow suit. He stood up, "Hey Akane, I gotta go to the bathroom! Be right –"

"Sit down!" she said, glaring at him.

Ranma slumped back down in his seat, "Aw man..."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"And Now...the Rest of the Story"

-

It was supposed to be a reinvigorating day off; a time away from the normal insanity that plagued the town. But things just refused to work out that way. For Hayate Kurogane, it all went to hell when that stupid troll showed up. He thought he handled it quite well at the time, actually beating him by using his vice against him, but the troll got the last laugh with that little bomb he left, blowing Hayate into the women's bath. Of course, that group of P.E.R.V.S had to be there too to get their shots in.

So now, Hayate stood poised to spread the chaos to the person he blamed for all of the misfortune that had befallen him; Ryouga Hibiki. Ryouga, whom had also hoped to take a day off from all of the random chaos that plagued the town. True, he could've picked a better way to spend the day than watching a romantic movie with the woman he loved and the other man she intended to marry. He thought the day was looking up, going to a late lunch with the new friend with whom he found a kindred spirit.

Now, again, there was Hayate, standing before he and his friend, Ukyou, looking to ruin the day. Being the hunter of someone you hated was one thing, but Ryouga found the life of the hunted to be very exastrabating. "Can't we do this some other time?" he asked, trying to diffuse the situation.

"You heard me, Hibiki," growled Hayate. "We're ending this, right here, right now!"

Ryouga shook his head, "I can't believe you're carrying this much hatred for me just because of what happened back at the school."

"Do you REALLY think this is just about the school? You must think me for a fool! You know full well my REAL beef with you is because of what happened AFTER the incident at the school!"

"After?" the lost boy repeated, thoroughly confused. "What are you talking about? This is the first time since the school I've seen you."

"I've had enough of your lies! DIE!" Flaring his ki, Hayate fired his crescent attack at Ryouga. Of course, with the tip of his umbrella bent, the trajectory of the attack was off the mark, slicing a passing car in half.

"Dammit! That's the third car this week!" lamented the driver.

Ryouga used the distraction to counter attack, wishing he had his own umbrella with him. He started low, trying to sweep Hayate's feet out from under him, but Hayate was quick enough to dodge. Ryouga followed with an uppercut, but once again, Hayate dodged. Unfortunately, the uppercut left Ryouga's abdomen open. Since the end of his umbrella was all but useless, Hayate settled for the handle, landing his aura crusher knocking Ryouga back, bouncing along the ground.

"Ryouga!" Ukyou called, helping him to his feet, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," he lied. That attack hurt more than it did back at the school. He figured Hayate would've been a lot stronger than those days, but to hurt him that much, even after his rigorous Breaking Point training meant he had some serious power behind those strikes. "LOOK OUT!" Ryouga shoved Ukyou out of the way and rolled clear as Hayate came down from above using the handle of his umbrella like a battering ram. With no one there to take the blow, the handle broke through the concrete sidewalk, leaving a sizable crater.

This was going to be like one of his fights with Ranma. Ryouga would lose if he tried to play keep away, since he wasn't fast enough. He would have to draw his opponent in so he could use his superior strength to his advantage. Hayate continued his assault on Ryouga, swinging the handle of his umbrella furiously. While it appeared he was wildly flailing it all over the place, Ryouga knew from past experience that he was really aiming for the spot he struck before. If the first hit hurt him that much, he didn't want to know how the subsequent strike would feel.

Ryouga pushed himself as hard as he could to avoid the quick strikes Hayate was throwing at him. Little did either realize, they were slowly making their way towards a bridge running over a gully with shallow running water. Hayate could tell Ryouga was nearing his limits from the look of fatigue on his face. How about that? A martial artist that strong, but with no stamina? It was sad, but Hayate wasn't one to let such things bother him in battle. He took advantage of his slowing opponent and struck for the spot he hit before to further weaken him.

Seeing the attack for his sore spot coming, Ryouga quickly lurched to the left, allowing the attack to go passed him. With Hayate in perfect position, Ryouga grabbed his arm and smiled. The chatterbox must've really thought Ryouga was getting tired already. But, just like Ryouga didn't know how much Hayate had improved until he took his best shot, he didn't know just how much Ryouga had improved either. With the pony tailed martial artist well in hand, Ryouga reared back and clobbered him with a head butt.

Hayate staggered back to the railing of the bridge, feeling as though a semi ran over his head. Ryouga tackled him, trying to put him in a submission hold to end the fight quickly. Hayate held his bent umbrella out between them to keep them apart so the hold couldn't be applied. As the two struggled, the railing of the bridge collapsed under their weight, causing both to fall into the gully.

Watching the fight unfold, Ukyou gasped in horror. With the water below, Ryouga would undergo his change and 'P-Chan' wouldn't stand a chance against his opponent. She ran to the edge of the bridge, hoping beyond hope that Ryouga managed to grab onto something so he wouldn't take the plunge. Unfortunately, seeing the lost boy's clothes floating in the water confirmed her fears. "RYOUGA!"

On the far side of the gully, a little black piglet pulled itself out of the cool waters and shook itself, letting the excess water fly off. Frantically, it looked around, trying to find the man who, just a few moments ago, was trying to kill him. P-Chan never did find the man. He did, however, find a very wet, very irate looking rabbit standing next to him.

----+----

A quick trip back to Ucchan's Okonomiyaki and one kettle of water later, the two farm animals were returned to their human forms. Ryouga's clothes were fished out of the gully and were drying in the back yard. The lost boy himself had put on fresh clothes taken from his room. Hayate's clothes were so far gone; they decided to let the current claim them. At the moment, he was clad in one of Ukyou's male school uniforms, which did not fit him well. While he fretted about his restricted movement while in the tight clothes, he swore to never again wear one of his good suits in that town. At his current rate, he was losing one a week and they were far too expensive to be destroyed one by one like that.

Ukyou, who was out of the dining hall to allow the boys to change forms and clothes, stepped back in. Just in case things got out of hand, she had her mega spatula strapped to her back. She was twice caught unprepared by Hayate's attacks and she wasn't going to let it happen in her home again.

"I see you've gotten the door fixed," Hayate commented. "That's good. I hated having to destroy the first one, but I couldn't let that Ranma fellow spoil things...even though he still did in the end."

"Ranchan has a way of doing that for jerks like you. And just in case you get any ideas, I have just the tool to 'spoil things' again," said Ukyou, patting her spatula.

Ryouga shook his head, "I can't believe you followed me all the way to Jusenkyo. Just what in the world were you thinking?"

"The same thing I was thinking when I abducted your girlfriend, there."

"She's not my girlfriend," Ryouga interrupted. Ukyou's eye twitched, but she said nothing.

"Yeah, whatever," went Hayate. "Anyway, I was looking for an edge against you for when we battled again to regain my rightful spot in the school."

"So this whole 'kill Ryouga' thing WAS about what happened there," Ryouga said. "I knew it."

"No," said Hayate. "I just wanted to beat you in a rematch. Ever since my defeat at your hands, things at the school were never the same. Sure, I started another winning streak after you left, but the fear and respect I had garnered there was gone. No matter how badly I beat my opponents, they just knew in the back of their minds that I was beatable. You did it, after all, after just three months of training. I decided the only way I could quell that notion was to find you and beat you, proving what happened before was a fluke.

But you were a very difficult man to track down. It took me another six months before I discovered you were even still in China. That was when I finally did find you..."

-Flashback-

Using his umbrella to hatchet his way through the thick foliage, Hayate trekked his way through the Chinese wilderness. After many months of searching, he finally found what he was looking for. A kindly old village woman had spotted a man dressed in all black, save for a yellow bandanna, hiking his way through the forest in this direction only a few days ago. This was a major break, as he was usually weeks behind his prey.

He couldn't wait to get another shot at Hibiki. That would show those fools back at school. What happened before was just an anomaly...Hibiki was supposed to be the one who lost his cool which, in turn, would cause him to lose the match. It was just...something about Ryouga that grated on his nerves and it got the better of him at the time. If he had an opportunity to battle the fang-toothed moron again, he just knew he would win. Once that happened, he would be feared again; he'd be the one everyone dreaded to face in combat.

Of course, he still had to find the guy. He may have been closer now, but Hibiki still had quite a long head start on him. He continued hacking his way through the forest until he came to a clearing. Pushing his way through the last of the foliage, he stepped out into the clearing and found himself peering over a steep ledge overlooking the most wondrous sight he had ever beheld. Below him, there were hundreds of pools of water blanketed in a thin mist. Each of the pools had at least one bamboo shoot implanted in the center.

Hayate's jaw dropped in awe. "I...I don't believe it! Could this really be it? The valley of the cursed springs!"

As his school was also deep in the Chinese wilderness, he had heard all sorts of fanciful stories about Amazons, strange bird creatures, the emperor of a dead dynasty with the powers of a dragon and the valley of cursed springs. While he was fascinated by those stories, he didn't think such things could've really existed. But the valley of cursed springs, Jusenkyo, was there, right before his eyes.

Before him was a singular opportunity that he would probably never be presented with again in his lifetime. With the springs, he saw power. From the stories he heard, the waters of the springs could magically transform a person from small, insignificant creatures to beings of incredible might, both mythical and mystical. Warlocks, gods, demons, dragons, the springs offered nearly limitless possibilities...if one could find the proper springs. If he had one of those as an alternate form, Ryouga Hibiki wouldn't stand a chance against him. But that was small time thinking. With one of those alternate forms, Ryouga would be beneath his notice. There would be no limit to the things he could do, both grand and perverse. Of course, he couldn't wait to try out the more perverse things...they were the most fun after all.

He made his way down the ledge and walked in between the individual springs. He couldn't wait to dive into one to see just what new form and abilities would be bestowed onto him. But doing such a thing would be foolish beyond measure. What if, instead of the spring of drowned war god, he took a dip into the spring of drowned cockroach? No, if he was going to do this, he had to think things through. He looked around and found a house at the far end of the valley. If the stories held true, that was where the Jusenkyo guide lived. Surely, as a guide, he would have all of the springs mapped out and cataloged someplace. Of course, the guide probably wouldn't share that knowledge willingly with anyone who just asks, so Hayate would have to obtain the information by...other means.

Hayate snuck around the back of the guide's house and peered through a window. He found the Jusenkyo guide in what appeared to be his kitchen. Looked like he was about to start dinner, as he was holding a little black piglet over a boiling pot. For a reason Hayate couldn't fathom though, it appeared the guide was having a conversation with a panda. Still, with the nature of the valley, such things were possible. So with a shrug, he moved on, trying another window.

Bingo! This looked like the guide's library. Surely, the information he was looking for was stored among the numerous books and scrolls that were strewn about. Using the bladed tip of his umbrella, he pried the window open. There was a scream that came from the kitchen and Hayate paused, looking to see if he had been caught. As it seemed no one noticed him yet, he continued onward.

Making no sound, he entered the library and took a quick look around. Most of the books on the shelves and everywhere else were marked, identifying themselves as useless. Mainly cookbooks, detective stories, a huge selection about Chinese history especially regarding the Three Kingdoms period and something about men being from Mars and women from Venus. Definitely no accounting for taste; though there was something about herbs used in tea to increase longevity...he'd have to look into that one later. Back to the matter at hand, since the books yielded little useful information, the scrolls would have to be where the good stuff was.

Near the center of the library, there were six cases with glass covers. Four of the cases contained fifty scrolls. The fifth looked to have thirty or so and the sixth was empty. All of the cases were secured with key locks. Once again, Hayate used the bladed end of his umbrella to pry the glass of the first case open, breaking the lock. He picked out a random scroll and began to read. He smiled as he was proved to be right. Going by what he was looking at, each scroll contained detailed information of five different springs, including the story of how the spring came to be and where exactly you could find it. He put that particular scroll back, not finding any spring of interest and took out another one.

He unrolled that scroll and once again, read off all of the springs it listed. The spring of drowned rat, the spring of drowned horse, the spring of drowned dog, spring of drowned chicken and the spring of drowned duck...once again, nothing of any interest. He replaced it, took out a third and began to read. The spring of drowned monkey, spring of drowned elephant, spring of drowned man, spring of drowned white tiger...Hmm, not a bad form to take actually. But he was looking for something nastier. If he couldn't find something else soon, he'd go back to that one. The last one on the list was a spring of drowned fish...he stopped and scratched his head. How in the world could a fish drown? He quickly wrapped up that scroll, replaced it and removed a fourth.

Hayate read the first spring and his eyes lit up with interest. Spring of drowned elf? Looked like he was finally delving into the more interesting creatures. Looking over the rest of the springs, he found a unicorn, pegasus, yeti, and dwarf. They were all interesting creatures to be sure, but he didn't think he could intimidate anyone with the form of a little pointed ear man who lived in a tree and made cookies. He put the fourth scroll back into the case and pulled a fifth. Slowly, an evil grin crept up upon his face as he read the third spring on the list...

Baijinjiaoniichuan: the spring of drowned platinum dragon. According to legend, the platinum dragons were one of the more powerful incarnations of the draconic race. This would definitely do the trick. Slowly, he put the top of the case back in place and exited back out the window.

----+----

Hayate studied the scroll carefully, not wanting to make a mistake. One little slip up, one wrong turn was the difference between becoming awesomely powerful and becoming an insignificant pest. He placed all of the landmarks that surrounded the spring and noted the other springs surrounding it. There was no question this was baijinjiaoniichuan. He couldn't wait to see Hibiki's face, not to mention everyone else at the school once they saw him in his alternate form. Every last one of them would bow down at his feet.

Carefully, he placed the scroll his umbrella and his backpack down in front of the spring, not wanting to lose any of his supplies. "This is it," he said to himself. "My normal, ordinary life is now over, to be replaced by a life of power and privilege! And to Ryouga, wherever you are, you'd better watch out! For when next we meet, you'll be facing a whole new man! HAHAHAHA!"

"HOW DARE YOU!"

"Eh?" Hayate paused, wondering if he had finally been caught. Through the fog, came three forms...a panda, a man in what looked like an old, Chinese military uniform and another man without any clothes at all. Wait a minute! That naked guy chasing the other two! Wasn't that..."Ryouga?"

"I'LL TEACH YOU TO TRY AND COOK ME!"

The first man and the panda ran passed Hayate, barely missing him through the fog. Ryouga, however, collided with him and both fell over, Ryouga landing unceremoniously on his unclad rear end. Hayate, however, fell backwards in another spring.

Ryouga shook his head and looked around, wondering who or what it was he bumped into. Not seeing anything, he stood back up, looking for his original quarry. "Damn it all, where did they go?" he wondered. He started off in one direction. The next thing he knew, he found himself out of the fog and out of the valley, surrounded by the dense forest. "WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW?"

Meanwhile, back in the valley, the waters of a certain spring began to bubble and a new form broke through the surface. A little, white hare took a gasping breath of the life giving air and trudged its way back to land. The older man and the panda, now out of danger, retraced their steps and found the soaked bunny as it gasped on the shore of the spring.

"Too too bad," the man in the uniform said. "You fall in tuniichuan: spring of drowned rabbit. There, very tragic story of rabbit what drowned there just fifty year ago. Now, whoever fall in spring take body of rabbit." He stopped and scratched his chin, "Hmm...now that I think about it, that story actually very silly. Rabbit was chased by short, bald guy who talk funny. Wanted me to be 'vewy vewy qwiet'..."

The panda picked up the rabbit by the scruff of the neck and held up a sign, "Can we eat this one?" The rabbit's eyes bugged out as it read the wooden placard.

"Oh no," the man said. "This one man. No can eat this one either."

-End Flashback-

Ryouga scratched his head, "I always wondered what I bumped into."

"Now you understand why I hate you as I do, Hibiki! If you hadn't bumped me into the wrong spring, I could've had the power of a dragon at my disposal! It was that, beyond everything else, that changed my quest from wanting to merely beat you to wanting your head," said Hayate fuming. "I have never forgiven you for giving me that useless and, quite honestly, very embarrassing form."

"Really?" Ukyou wondered, raising her eyebrow. "Sounds more like your mouth got the better of you again. If you just jumped into the spring instead of standing there talking to yourself, you would've had the power of the dragon."

Her argument was very logical and well reasoned. So, of course, Hayate ignored it. "Because of you, Ryouga, I was put through torments the likes of which no man was ever meant to experience. Do you have any idea what it's like having to run from wolves, foxes and the like because they see me as a tasty little snack? Or from chefs because they want to turn me into a gourmet dinner?"

"Hello!" shouted Ryouga. "Maybe you hadn't noticed, but I turn into a black piglet no bigger than you are in your cursed form. Of course I know what that's like!"

"That's not even mentioning that time just before I came here to this district..." He recalled having the misfortune of running into a certain extra bubbly girl with long blond hair and roller skates. When she saw him, she immediately scooped him into her arms and named him 'Philippe'. "She put me in her room," Hayate continued. "It was so...pink...and cutesy...and there were so many stuffed toys..." He shuddered at the memory. "It took me six agonizing months to escape from her."

Ryouga shuddered as well, knowing exactly whom it was he was referring to. "At least she gave you a guy's name. I was her 'darling Charlotte'." Ukyou listened to them going back and fourth, matching horror stories related to their cursed forms. When she discovered Ranma's curse, she thought it was cute and wondered what it would be like to have one herself. Now, she hoped she would never have to find out.

Hayate stood up, clenching his bent umbrella. "For everything I went through because of you, Ryouga Hibiki, I swear, I'm going to make you pay!" Ryouga and Ukyou stood ready to counter any attack he was prepared to make. "But not right now. I'm tired and just want to go to bed." The opposing couple facefaulted. "I tell you what, in three days, I will meet you in front of that school of yours. We can settle the score then. What do you say?"

"Wherever you want it, Kurogane," answered Ryouga. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Very good. I will see you there." With a nod of the head, Hayate turned on his heel and uncomfortably walked out of the restaurant.

Ryouga slumped back down into his chair and rubbed his stomach. Ukyou sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey hon," she started, "are you okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a little sore where he hit me earlier."

This drew Ukyou's concern. "You're built like a tank. I mean you took a full on shot from Tsubasa in that giant robot thing he was in and shrugged it off like it was nothing. You mean to tell me that he hurt you that badly with just one hit?"

Ryouga nodded again. "Looks like I have some training to do..." 

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	9. This Week's Fight of the Century

Amazing.

It wasn't that long ago that something like this wouldn't be possible...not without a lot of yelling and punching involved anyway. Ranma stood staring at himself in the bathroom mirror, having just washed his face for his morning preparation for school. He pondered how, exactly, he got to this point. The change was sudden and, just like everything else in that town, difficult to go through. Most of the experiences he had been through he wouldn't wish on his worse enemies. He had to admit, though, he couldn't argue with the results.

"Are you just going to stand there and drip everywhere? Here!"

He turned around and regarded his fiancée clad only in a towel, recently finishing a bath, holding another towel in an outstretched hand. Ranma took the towel and dried off his face, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. What was it, just one, two months ago? If they ended up in the bathroom together this way, even if it were by accident, she would've throttled him mercilessly. Now, they've gotten so comfortable with each other, the got ready for school in each other's company regularly. That, of course, elicited many fights with their fathers regarding immediate weddings. But what they had to go through now was nothing compared to what they had to endure previously and for those quiet moments, it all seemed worth it.

Akane tilted her head to the side, confused as to why Ranma was staring at her so intently. "Hey. Anything wrong?"

Ranma smiled and shook his head. "Nah. In fact, for the first time in my life, it finally feels as though everything's just right." He put his arms around her waist and drew her into him, nuzzling her hair slightly. "I wish these moments could last forever."

Akane put her arms around her neck and smiled in return. "Wow. You really surprised me there. And here I was thinking that my husband-to-be didn't have a romantic bone in his body."

"I guess I'm still feeling the effects of that stupid movie you made me watch. I hope I don't have to see one of those again for a long time."

She raised an eyebrow, "There was nothing wrong with that movie, you know."

"Are you kidding? It put me to sleep twice."

"Oh, so that was YOU I heard snoring? I ought to slug you for that..."

"OH MY!"

Hearing the startled cry coming from the outside, they nodded at each other, silently promising to continue their 'moment' another time. Of course, Ranma hoped the thing about the movie wouldn't come up again.

----+----

Now fully dressed, Ranma and Akane went to the dining room and saw Kasumi, Soun and Genma huddled around something in the middle of the floor just in front of the sliding door that lead to their back yard. Nabiki was sitting at the dining table, seemingly unconcerned with what was going on.

"Nabiki? What's going on?" asked Akane.

The middle Tendo sister shrugged, "It's just the old man. Looks like he got beat up again."

"Oh. Is that all?" went Ranma. He and Akane shrugged. It was no big deal to them, as he got beat up all the time.

"It's more serious than that, boy," said Genma. "It appears someone managed to beat the master in an actual duel."

That caught his attention. "Say what?" Ranma ran over to the crowd and knelt down next to the bruised and battered martial arts master. From the look of the injuries inflicted on him, it looked as though he was scalded pretty badly by a rather nasty ki attack. Now that he thought about it, those ki burns looked very familiar...much like the ones Ranma, himself, had recovered from not too long ago. He had to be sure, "Hey, who did this to you?"

Happousai looked up at him and weakly lifted his hand, "It...was...Kurogane. Hayate Kurogane..." After which, his hand fell lifelessly to the ground.

"Hayate Kurogane?" repeated Akane. "Ranma, isn't that the guy that challenged Ryouga to a duel"

Ranma stood up and nodded, "Yeah. I knew he was tough, but I didn't think he was THAT tough. If he's strong enough to beat the old freak, then Ryouga's really gonna have his hands full with that one."

While the engaged couple conversed, Soun and Genma quickly wrapped Happousai's form in ceremonial robes, sealed him in an ornate coffin with a spirit ward on the top and buried him in the back yard. They stood over his grave, clapped their hands together and prayed.

"Oh the poor, poor master," wailed Soun.

"Yes, he has left us far too soon," lamented Genma. However, they weren't very believable with the huge grins on their faces.

-BONK!- -BONK!-

The two men were laid out on top of each other in a twitching heap with Happousai, who appeared out of nowhere, standing on top of them. "You ingrates!" he yelled. "I'm not dead yet!"

"Darn...I mean, thank goodness!" Genma said.

"Oh, yes! We're very glad to see you're okay, master!" went Soun.

The miniature martial artist snorted, "I'm sure..."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"This Week's Battle of the Century"

-

It was another bright, sunny day in Nerima, with only a few clouds in sight overhead. As Ranma looked up in the sky, he lamented the loss of another fine day being cooped up in school. But as much as he tried to keep his mind off of what happened earlier at the house, he thought about what was soon to face Ryouga. The guy was a pig-headed jerk to be sure, but Ranma didn't want anything serious to happen to him. He was a friend, after all...or something close to it, anyway. He tried to tell himself that Ryouga could handle himself; that, in the end, Ryouga would be alright, but he couldn't help worry.

There was something else that nagged him. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was shadowing him. He stood and looked around the area, but didn't see anyone or anything out of the ordinary; just students making their way to their various schools. As they were in close proximity to Furinkan now, the students were mostly their schoolmates. Akane, noticing her fiancée had stopped walking on the top of the fence had looked up at him with a worried expression on her face. "Something wrong?"

He took another look around the area, but found nothing out of the ordinary. "Nah. I guess it's just my imagination." Still, not taking any chances, he dropped down to street level and walked the rest of the way to school close to Akane. Just above them, a figure poked its head out of a tree and leapt to a neighboring building.

Walking up to Furinkan High's front gate, Ranma and Akane found Hayate standing in the middle of the walkway waiting for Ryouga. Keeping to his promise to not lose any more suits to Nerima's insanity, he wore a pair of nondescript slip on shoes, a white, long sleeved dress shirt and dark colored khaki pants. He was tapping the point of his new umbrella on the ground impatiently and had a very irritated look on his face. Noticing the engaged couple as they entered the campus grounds, he nodded his head to them. "Good morning." Ranma gave him a mean look, but decided to stay somewhat civil, nodding in return. "You haven't seen Hibiki lately, have you?" Hayate asked.

Ranma shook his head, "No, I haven't."

Hayate scowled, "That idiot. I told him the fight would be in three days. I bet he got scared and ran."

"Ryouga AIN'T the type to run from a fight," went Ranma. "Just hold your horses, would ya? It's only been two weeks. Give him time, he'll show up. You'll see." Hayate snorted and went back to tapping his umbrella to the ground. Ranma thought about beating the guy up himself, but he knew Ryouga wouldn't appreciate the pigtailed martial artist fighting his battles for him. Using every bit of restraint he had at his disposal, Ranma walked by.

Akane looked at him with a smile, "That's twice you've surprised me today. I've never heard you stick up for Ryouga like that before."

"I just don't like that guy," Ranma said, looking over his shoulder at Hayate. "I hope when Ryouga does show up, he pounds the chatterbox into the ground good."

"Seconded," said Akane with a nod. "You think he'll show up today?"

"Heh, you never know with Ryouga." All of the students suddenly stopped as a rumbling sound emanated from below, worried that an earthquake may have started. Ranma knew better, though and he shook his head. "Scratch that...I DO know. Erm, you may want to move..."

"What for?" asked Akane. The rumbling sound got closer and closer until the ground under Ranma and Akane exploded, causing them to go flying into the air and, consequently, crashing back to earth in a very painful heap.

"That'd be 'what for'," groaned Ranma.

Ryouga emerged out of the gaping hole, fanning away the smoke and dust that was flying around from the explosion. He looked around trying to catch his bearings and wondered aloud, "Now where am I?"

Ranma walked over to him and gave him a whack upside the head. "You're at Furinkan High School, dummy."

The perpetually lost boy took a look at his long time rival and grinned. He removed his backpack and got into a fighting stance, "I've found you at last, Ranma! After the rigorous training I've just undergone, there's no way you can defeat me now! Get ready!"

"Erm...you DO remember you're not fighting me this time, right?" the pigtailed martial artist said, pointing at a slack-jawed Hayate.

Ryouga looked at his real opponent, then back to Ranma, "Oh, that's right! Heh, sorry. Habit." Ranma shook his head again.

"Always have to make a flashy entrance, don't you, Hibiki? Just like the first time we met..." Hayate said, regaining his composure. "At any rate, it's about time you showed up. What in the world happened to you? We were supposed to have our duel two weeks ago."

"Hey, give me a break!" returned Ryouga as he took his umbrella out of its binding on his backpack. "I wanted to do a bit of training before we fought, but I got lost on the way back here."

"That figures," went Hayate. He began to twirl his umbrella, the glowing end streaming with ki as it did. "I'm rather antsy to get started immediately, but I'm sure after your long journey, you're going to want to rest a bit. I want to make sure that when I beat you, there won't be any excuses."

"Don't do me any favors," Ryouga said.

"As you wish!" Wasting no more time, Hayate attacked, stabbing and slashing purposely with the bladed end of his umbrella. Ryouga managed to dodge most of the first volley of strikes, blocking the rest with his own umbrella. As the fight got underway, a large crowd of students gathered to watch, some of which were surprised to note Ranma wasn't involved for a change. Not noted by most of the crowd, was a particular girl dressed in a ninja gi watching the unfolding battle from her perch high atop one of the many trees on campus.

Remembering the first time they fought in an actual duel, Ryouga noted Hayate's umbrella. After many impacts between his and Ryouga's own umbrella, it didn't bend from the impact. It seemed this new one was constructed with sturdier material. Though it could survive attacks, Ryouga doubted it could effectively block his own bludgeoning shots in tact. That was part of Ryouga's game plan going into the fight. He had never seen Hayate fight without his umbrella, even while it was damaged. Once the overly talkative martial artist was disarmed, Ryouga figured he would be helpless.

With that in mind, Ryouga shifted from defense to offense, swiping away with his own umbrella. However, Hayate managed to dodge every one of his strikes easily, using his superior speed to his advantage. The bandana clad martial artist watched his opponent's movements closely, taking mental notes. Ryouga surmised that Hayate would be what you get if you mixed he and his rival" slightly slower but stronger than Ranma, slightly weaker but faster than Ryouga. Having fought Ranma as many times as he had, Ryouga recognized that what he had to do was exploit his opponent's weakness and/or take away his advantage.

Hopefully, he should be able to take away his opponent's ground speed rather easily. It would give him an opportunity to test some of what he learned on his training trip. He took a swing at Hayate, forcing the pony tailed martial artist to hop backwards. Ryouga smiled, getting the space he needed to try out his move. He focused his ki into his finger and forced it into the ground, "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" The ground underneath Ryouga exploded, sending rock and debris everywhere, forcing the gathered crowd to cover themselves, lest they be injured by the flotsam.

Still in the air, Hayate's eyes bugged out watching Ryouga's move. He didn't notice Ryouga doing that move when he was fighting against that giant robot. Seems as though the lost boy was holding out on him. Who knew what else he had in his arsenal that he hasn't shown off before? However, the show wasn't over yet. There were subsequent explosions that erupted 360 degrees around him, moving in an ever-widening circle. The explosions ended just before they reached the gate in front of him or the school behind him. The audience, however, was forced to move back to avoid getting into the quagmire Ryouga created.

Hayate landed expertly on the shattered earth and surveyed the damage. He was astonished knowing Ryouga had managed all of that devastation with just one finger. "That was quite an amazing display, Hibiki! I have to say, I am quite impressed. But what, I wonder, were you trying to accomplish-" Before he could finish his longwinded sentence, he found Ryouga charging at him with a fist reared back looking to deliver a very painful looking punch. He tried to dodge out of the way, but when he shifted his weight to create momentum, his foot sank into the softened ground, causing him to lose his balance slightly. Unable to move in time, Ryouga caught him with a hard shot to the face that sent him crashing to the loosened dirt.

Needless to say, the audience was astonished by Ryouga's maneuver as well. "Unbelievable!" Akane said in the crowd. "How in the world did he manage to do that?"

"Easy," explained Ryouga. "I remember that Ranma incorporated his ki with that chestnut fist of his. I figured since he could do it, why couldn't I? So I charged a bit of my ki into my finger when I used the breaking point. While the ground above exploded, the ki below ground shot out to other breaking points detonating them as well, causing the chain reaction. With the ground in the shape its in, a fighter that depends heavily on his agility would be at a severe disadvantage because of the bad footing." He gave Ranma a devious look.

"Not bad, bacon breath! Not bad!" Ranma would have to remember that for the next time he and Ryouga would battle.

"And yet, somehow, you're still able to move on the softened ground freely," Hayate mentioned, while rubbing his sore jaw. "Interesting."

"That's right," said Ryouga with a smile. "Looks like this fight is just about over already. You're nothing without your mobility. But just to make sure, I'll take that umbrella away from you."

Hayate stood back up and said defiantly, "You're pretty full of yourself to think you've beaten me already! KIHAKU SETSUDANKI!" He fired his crescent attack at Ryouga, which the bandana clad martial artist was able to dodge just in the nick of time. But the distraction was enough for Hayate, even with his poor footing, to close the gap between them and strike the lost boy in his abdomen, the same place he was struck before, with his aura crusher. The force of the attack propelled Ryouga into the front wall of the school.

Peeling himself off of the wall, Ryouga grabbed his abdomen and winced in pain. He had gone off to retrain in the breaking point technique, toughening up his body so he could withstand such hard blows. It didn't hurt as much as it did when he got hit outside the movie theater, but it still hurt more than he hoped it would. "KIHAKU SETSUDANKI!" Ryouga looked up and saw that crescent shaped energy attack heading for him again. He allowed himself to drop to the ground, letting the attack to slice through the wall.

The lost boy got back to his feet, thankful to still have his head. "YOU'RE FINISHED! REIKI TSUUDAKEN!" Ryouga found his opponent nearly on top of him. He didn't have the time to dodge to the left or the right and he couldn't block with his own umbrella since he dropped it after Hayate's previous attack. Steeling himself to the best of his ability, Ryouga took the aura crusher at full strength in the gut. The force of the attack pounded Ryouga's body into the wall, creating a very sizable crater. His shoulders slumped, head drooped forward and eyes glazed over, apparently loosing consciousness from the strength of the attack to his front and the unforgiving brick wall behind him.

In the audience, there was an audible gasp at the turn of events. No one was more shocked or disturbed than Ranma and Akane. Ranma pumped his fist and spurred Ryouga on under his breath, "C'mon, Ryouga! I've hit you harder than that and you've kept goin'! If you loose to this jerk, I'll lose every bit of respect I have for you! Now wake up and beat this guy!"

Hayate chuckled to himself. It had taken so much time, caused him so much pain, but he had finally come through. This moment, this sweet victory made all of the hardships he had to endure over the years well worth it. Now, he can return to his school with the news of Hibiki's defeat and those fools will have no choice but to give him the respect he richly deserved.

He tried to withdraw the handle of his umbrella but to his chagrin it wouldn't budge. Turning his gaze to his umbrella, he found Ryouga's hand had it wrapped in an iron grip. Hayate looked back up and found the lost boy favoring him with an almost sadistic, fangy grin. With his free hand, Ryouga grabbed Hayate by his button down shirt and gave him and slammed their heads into each other. Hayate staggered backwards dazed slightly, reeling from the lost boy's head of stone. He was further dismayed as he watched the now three Ryougas in front of him toss his umbrella to one side.

"Let's see how well you fight unarmed," Ryouga said. He charged, striking Hayate in the stomach with a straight punch, followed by an uppercut to the jaw. He finished with a spin kick that landed on his opponent's chest, causing him to crash into a tree. As Hayate slid down to the ground, writhing in agony, Ryouga walked up to him, cracking his knuckles. "Just as I thought. Can't fight without your umbrella, can you?" Hayate raised his hands in front of him and Ryouga raised an eyebrow, "Aww, don't tell me you're begging off now..."

"KIKOKEN!" There was a bright, light blue flash and Ryouga was flung backward at the surprise ki attack. Now out of the corner, Hayate scurried over to his umbrella and took it firmly in hand. "Heh...heh heh! Did you really think I would be so short-sighted that I wouldn't learn some unarmed techniques?"

"Well, I was hoping..." went Ryouga, clutching his chest in pain.

"Tsk, I thought for sure Ryouga had him that time," Ranma said on the sidelines.

Hayate stood to his feet and wobbled slightly, unable to keep proper balance because of all the damage he had endured. He bared his teeth and began a breathing exercise in an attempt to get his second wind. Ryouga pushed himself up, wiped the sweat off of his brow and got back into a fighting stance. He was in pretty bad shape as well, but he still looked like he could bulldoze his way through a mountain if he wanted to. It didn't even look as though he was winded, not to mention the fact that he hadn't used that shi shi whatucallit yet.

He had hoped he wouldn't have had to use this, but Hayate felt he no longer had a choice. His usual moves just weren't doing enough damage to Hibiki's super hardened hide. He began to twirl his umbrella and his ki, which was usually either focused on the handle or the tip of his parasol, enveloped his entire body. As his umbrella spun faster and faster, the wind in the area of the school began to whip up violently. All of the girls gathered in the audience had to hold their skirts down to keep from being embarrassingly exposed to the world.

In the center of the battlefield, the wind grew stronger and stronger and Ryouga found it increasingly difficult to remain upright. "W-what's going on?" he wondered aloud. "Is he generating this wind?"

Hayate smiled, "That's right, Hibiki. You stayed at the school long enough to learn the basics so that you could humiliate me in front of everyone there. However, you didn't learn any of our division's more advanced techniques. But not to worry, I'm going to teach you one of them...the hard way! Prepare yourself for the Kongming School of Unorthodox Weaponry Martial Arts Inclement Weather Division Final Attack!"

"Would that mean you'd be running away?" A particularly strong gust of wind whipped by and nearly knocked Ryouga over. "I guess not..."

----+----

Two weeks and not one word. Ukyou shook her head just thinking about the rather rude behavior of her houseguest and employee. Sure, he may have gotten so desperately lost that he could've been on the other side of the world. But there were other ways of getting in contact with a person. She does have a computer, after all. Sure, she didn't use it much, but she did hop online every now and then to check her e-mail. Plus the postal service was still active. He could've sent her a postcard or something to let her know he was okay.

But then, what if he couldn't? What if something happened to him? Did a predator eat him while in his cursed form? Was the training he subjected himself to too much for him? She tried to clear her head of such thoughts. Ryouga was one of the strongest people she knew. It didn't matter what was thrown at him to knock him down, he always managed to bounce back to his feet and keep pushing forward. She didn't have to worry about him as much as she did. Still, she couldn't help but remember that time when they ran into each other just before they found out about Ranma and Akane. If he hadn't stumbled into her, he may have died from then.

After Ukyou left her father to pursue Ranma and Genma, she spent the majority of her time alone. Even while here in Nerima, even though she held the hope of marrying Ranma and raising a family close to her heart, she spent most of her time by herself. When she found out Ranma finally chose Akane, it was as if her world crumbled apart. She never felt so lonely in her life. Even though she irrationally lashed out at Ryouga, she came to realize what a comfort it was to have him with her. It didn't feel as bad being with a kindred spirit. She didn't think she could take it if she found out she lost him too.

Sure, the guy was thicker than molasses at times and just as bright. Not to mention the fact that he was a literal emotional time bomb. But he was probably the only guy in town that came close to really understanding her, as their trials, tribulations and trauma's were so similar. She would definitely miss that understanding if she had lost him. She would also miss that goofy grin of his whenever he did something stupid. And the cute way he would...

Ukyou gave her head a couple of good whacks, as if she were trying to dislodge the thoughts from her head. She still must've been feeling the effects of that stupid movie Akane invited her to see. She hoped she didn't have to see one of those again for a long time.

She made her way to school at an even pace, not wanting to be late, but not having so much time that other students would have the opportunity to stop her and ask more questions about Ryouga. She was trying hard not to think of dire situations that could've prevented him from returning and their questions would be a very good way to get her to start thinking about them again. She also hoped to avoid Hayate. No doubt the blowhard would be there waiting for Ryouga again today as he had been for the last two weeks. The less she saw of him, the better.

Speaking of blowhards, where in the world did that biting wind come from?

----+----

From what Ryouga could tell, the wind had reached its strongest point. He found that lowering his center of gravity allowed him to stand against it effectively. The crowd found it more difficult to stand against the wind and the fact that chunks of the loosened ground were whipped up and started flying around didn't help matters. Most dispersed to the relative safety to the building leaving Ranma, Akane and a few other hearty souls to witness the battle's escalation.

The chunks of the ground were giving Ryouga a good pounding, but with the breaking point training, which he put himself through again during his two weeks away, he could barely feel them. "Is this your so-called final attack, Hayate?" he said with a grin. "I have to say, I'm very disappointed. I was expecting more than this."

Hayate grinned in return, "This? This isn't the final attack, although it usually is enough to intimidate my opponents into backing down. HERE'S the REAL final attack!"

Ryouga readied himself again for whatever was coming. Before the attack came, though, someone making their way onto the school grounds behind his opponent caught the bandanna clad martial artist's attention. Their hand was covering their face because of the powerful wind, but the chestnut hair flying franticly behind her gave her identity away. "Ukyou?"

"Take this! JUANFENG-DA!" Hayate took his spinning umbrella and swung it over his head. This created three compact tornadoes that spun around him sucking up everything around them. The suction was so powerful Ryouga could feel it pulling him in. Unfortunately, the move that served him so well earlier in the fight was proving to be his undoing as the loosened ground provided him with no traction to brace against the fearsome wind.

Ukyou, however, with no warning as to what was going on, was immediately drawn into the attack. Getting sucked into the vacuum so suddenly knocked all of the air out of her, causing her to lose consciousness. Steeling himself, he stopped struggling and allowed himself to be drawn into the attack as well. He found Ukyou spinning in the center of one of the twisters and sort of swam up to her and wrapped his hands around her. Now came the part he didn't think about...he got up to her, but how in the world was he going to get down? He was holding his breath trying to keep from passing out himself but he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep the air in.

"KIHAKU SETSUDANKI!"

A volley of Hayate's crescent attacks ripped through the tornados. Ryouga put his body over Ukyou's to protect her from the attacks and used his own ki to blunt the strikes. However, under the extreme circumstances, he couldn't maintain his concentration and the edge of one of the crescents managed to cut into the small of his back. Thanks to the crescents, the tornadoes dissipated, causing Ukyou and Ryouga to fall back to the ground.

In the dwindling audience, Ranma pinned Akane to the outside wall of the school, shielding her with his body. Once the winds died down, he released her and both breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't believe it," went Ranma. "That was almost like the Dragon's Blast of Heaven, but he didn't need to do a spiral, nor did he need any of Ryouga's ki to do it. Intense! But why in the world did Ryouga let himself get sucked in like that?"

Akane looked over to her friend to see how he was faring and she gasped, "Is that Ukyou?"

Ranma's jaw dropped, "Ukyou?"

Painfully, Ryouga sat up, carefully laid Ukyou down and gave her a once over. She had some scratches due to the flying rocks and earth in the tornado. Her uniform was shredded in a few places, but otherwise, she seemed okay. Suddenly, he felt a vice grip clamp around his neck and he was hoisted into the air. Below him, he heard Hayate give a somewhat tired laugh. "You put up quite a fight, Hibiki," he said. "I hadn't had to go that hard in a very long time. But this fight is now over. You lose."

Ryouga wasn't usually one to give up, however, he couldn't help but agree with Hayate. His trip through the tornado took more out of him than he expected. When he was cut in the back, he yelled out, which allowed the vacuum to knock the wind out of him as well. He hadn't fully recovered from that yet before Hayate grabbed him, totally cutting off his oxygen supply. His arms and legs felt like they were made of lead. There was nothing he could do to defend himself. He looked down at the unconscious Ukyou and thought it was good he'd been able to see her one last time. He regretted their time would be cut so short and wondered...

His ki flared to life and Hayate suddenly found it impossible to continue holding his adversary up. "W-what's going on?" went Hayate, his voice cracking looking at Ryouga's eyes glowing an eerie shade of red, the same color as his ki. Now that he thought about it, it was the same shade of red as the...His jaw dropped, "Oh no..."

"SHI SHI HOUKODAN!"

The remainder of the crowd shielded their eyes as the bright column of energy exploded and the full Shi Shi Houkodan pierced the early morning sky. Once the light went away, the crowd noted Ryouga was still standing, but Hayate wasn't. In fact, he wasn't anywhere to be found. But they could hear him; it was low at first, but it got louder and louder until it suddenly stopped as he fell from the sky and crashed into the ground right at Ryouga's feet.

Slowly, Hayte pushed himself up onto his elbows and he looked up at Ryouga. "I-I'm not finished yet!" Ryouga looked down his nose at Hayate, then bowed his head completely. In the sky beyond his adversary, Hayate could still see a speck of green from Ryouga's attack. Instead of getting smaller, though, it was getting bigger, as if...it were coming back. "Aw crap..." The energy from Ryouga's attack slammed back down to earth with a wide radius, completely demolishing everything it touched.

When the smoke cleared, there was a huge crater where the school's front gate was supposed to be. In the center of the crater, Ryouga stood above the unconscious form of his opponent and said with a snort, "You're finished now." And with that, his knees buckled beneath him and he fell to the ground unconscious as well.

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	10. And the Beat Goes On

It had taken a long time for him to master just the one move, but he finally had it down. Remembering the story of how Ryouga finally managed to beat Ranma one on one with the addition of just one move: the Roaring Lion's Bullet, he figured he would be able to accomplish the same thing. So with a spring in his step and an excited smile on his face, Mousse made his way to Furinkan High School to make his formal challenge.

This was going to be a very interesting fight to be sure. For the first time since he arrived in Nerima, he was going to be fighting for himself; he would be fighting for his own pride as a man and a martial artist. He went back to what Cologne told him, how his obsession with Shampoo was holding him back from living up to his true potential. Truth be told, he couldn't really tell a difference between then and now, save the fact that he had the scroll at his disposal now. Of course, he was having fun now learning different techniques; even with the great frustration he endured after messing up over and over again, the great elation he felt when he finally perfected the Phoenix Inferno more than made up for it.

Now that he thought about it, he was able to learn the Crashing Albatross Kick and the Phoenix Inferno quicker than he had ever learned any move before. It must've been because he was totally focused on his training and not distracted by brooding over Ranma or Shampoo. Maybe that was what she was talking about? The old woman really did know her stuff. It's too bad they didn't have a better relationship while they were living together. Without the Ranma/Shampoo thing giving him tunnel vision and putting he and Cologne at odds, he could've learned a lot from her. Well, it was water under the bridge now.

As he approached the school, his jaw dropped. The front of the building had cracks and holes all over the place. Trees were uprooted, the front gate was totally gone and there was a huge crater that spanned from the school grounds to the street. Looks like someone had a party before he even got there. Whatever happened, at least the school was still standing this time. "I hope no body beat Ranma up too bad," Mousse said to himself, working his way around the rubble. "That's my job!"

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"And the Beat Goes On"

-

Ukyou's eyes fluttered open, then closed back again from the intense pounding in her head. Painfully, she sat up and rubbed her temples. So as not to make the pain worse, she turned her head slowly, trying to gather her bearings. For some reason, she had small bandages on her arm and face and she was on a bed.

"So, you're finally awake, hmm?" Looking to her right, she found Dr. Tofu.

"Dr. Tofu? Wha-where am I?"

"You're in your school's nurse's office," he said. "You've been unconscious for about four hours. From what I understand, you took quite a wallop getting sucked into a twister. You were fortunate, though. All you have are a couple of bumps and bruises, nothing serious." Twister? Oh that's right. Ukyou remembered seeing one before everything went black. But it was so localized it couldn't have been natural. Dr. Tofu walked across the office and bent over another bed, "Now this guy, on the other hand, was very beat up."

She looked over to the other bed and found "Ryouga!" Ryouga was indeed very beat up. He had dark bruises all over his arms. There were small band-aids all over his face and arms, along with a larger set of bandages wrapped across the small of his back. "What happened to him?"

"What else? He was in a fight."

"Ranma?"

"No, actually, Ranma helped me to get the three of you in here." He pointed to the third bed in the office and she found Hayate laying in it. "From what Ranma told me, he was the one that created the twister that knocked you out." So they did have their fight. And Hayate can make a tornado like Ranma. Dr. Tofu continued, "And that Ryouga jumped into the twister and pulled you out. Not the smartest thing to do, I have to say. Very brave, though."

Ukyou stood up and leaned over to check her employee. Unconsciously, she ran her finger over the contour of his face. "How is he Doctor?"

"He just needs a few days of rest and he'll be just fine."

She smiled and let out a sigh of relief, "That's great to hear..."

----+----+----+----+----

Mousse waded through the huge throng of students that populated the fields in back of the school. Apparently it was lunchtime and it looked as though the entire student population was dining outdoors today. Even though Ranma would be easily identifiable since he never wore the school issued uniform, it would still be very difficult to find him in this huge crowd unless he had some idea where to look.

"Yo, Mousse! Over here!" Well that gave him a good idea. Following the familiar voice, he found Ranma on the far side of the field waving at him under a tree. Akane was sitting next to him looking slightly miffed. Mousse walked over to them, hoping he wasn't about to get involved in one of their arguments. Once he was close, Ranma put his arm around his neck. "Hey, buddy! How's it going?"

Mousse sweatdropped. Did he just step into the Twilight Zone or something? "Erm, what's going on?" he asked.

Ranma leaned in and whispered, "Man, you came just in time. Akane surprised me by making my lunch for me today." Mousse blinked, completely confused by what he just heard. Ranma leaned out and asked normally, "So! What brings you to Furinkan?"

"Ah yes!" went Mousse with a smile. "You remember when I said that I would challenge you to a duel one day, right?"

Nodding, Ranma said, "Lemme guess, you're here to give me that challenge now, right?"

"That's right. I've finally perfected a couple of new moves and I'm itching to try them out in an actual fight."

A smile grew on Ranma's face as well, "Is that so? Sounds interesting. So when do you want the duel to take place?"

"Well I was going to suggest here tomorrow, but it looks like someone beat me to it."

"Ah, yeah. That was Ryouga and Hayate."

Mousse raised an eyebrow, "Hayate? Who's that?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell ya later."

"Okay...well, I guess we could do it in the park then."

"You got it. Tomorrow in the park."

"Make it this weekend," interjected Akane. "Remember, you want to do better in school so you don't have to stay here any longer than you don't have to, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," went Ranma. "Well, you heard her. This weekend."

"Okay. This weekend then," said Mousse.

Akane smiled, "Now that that's taken care of and since you're here, would you like to join us for lunch? I made an extra box just in case Ranma conveniently lost his."

Ranma vigorously shook his head, trying to warn the be-speckled martial artist. Mousse, however shrugged and said, "Why not?" Ranma groaned and buried his head into his hand. Mousse sat down next to Akane and took the box she offered to him. He opened the box, split apart the pair of chopsticks that came with it and took a bite. There was a long pause, after which he finally said, "Mmmm...that really tastes...interesting. Er, I just remembered, I have to get back to Autumn to help with the shop! Thanks for the lunch." And with that, he quickly put down the box lunch, stood up and left.

Akane smirked at Ranma, "You see? He thought it was good." Before Ranma could respond, loud wrenching sounds came from the direction Mousse ran off in.

----+----+----+----+----

It took a little while longer, but Ryouga and Hayate finally woke up from their battle. Both sat up silently in their individual beds and allowed Dr. Tofu to give them a check up. He checked their backs, joints and each of their limbs, with the both of them flinching in intense pain. Fortunately, neither had any permanent damage done to them. He ordered both to take it easy for the next couple of days, just to give themselves a chance to recover properly. After making his recommendation, he left.

Once the doctor was out of the room, Hayate got to his feet and picked up his umbrella, this one now badly bent as well. He walked over to the door, but instead of walking through, he turned to Ryouga and bowed slightly, "I will concede defeat to you today, Hibiki. But I would warn you to watch your back. I will not stop until I defeat you; count on it." With another bow, he opened the door and painfully limped out.

Ukyou gingerly put Ryouga's hand in her own and smiled at him, "So, how does victory feel, hon?"

"It hurts," he groaned.

"I would guess so. You're a mess." Unconsciously, she stroked her thumb across his hand. He looked down at it and silently wondered if she knew what she was doing. He blushed, but Ukyou couldn't tell, as it blended in with his bruises. "I heard you threw yourself into a tornado to save me. I can't believe you would do something so stupid..."

He couldn't stand for the insult, but with her thumb constantly running over the top of his hand, he was too distracted to think of an effective comeback. "W-well," he stuttered, "When I saw you g-get sucked in, I just...just acted. You've been hurt because of me t-too many times already. I...I..."

She favored him with the warmest smile he had ever seen, even from Akane. It completely took his breath away. "It looks like I owe you another one," she said. Ryouga felt a familiar queasiness in his stomach. A lump formed in his throat and sweat beaded up on his forehead. This couldn't have been happening, could it? He regarded it as something of a small miracle when they started regarding each other as friends. But this?

Her thumb stopped moving and she squeezed his hand, all the while her eyes were locked in on his. Ryouga's entire body began to tremble and his mouth went dry as her head inched closer and closer to his. He expected to clam up, he expected to pass out, he expected to do something incredibly stupid, but he stayed stock still, waiting for the inevitable. He swore he could hear both of their hearts pounding in his ears.

-Thoom!-

Ryouga blinked. That wasn't their hearts...

-THOOM!-

The outside wall of the nurse's office blew inwards, sending debris everywhere. Before either could react, a blur flew through the hole, tackled Ryouga and pinned him against one of the surviving walls. "R-Ryouga!" Ukyou said, coughing from the thick dust that permeated the room now.

Ryouga took a good look at the intruder that pinned him. It was a girl, that much was obvious. From the look of her outfit, she seemed to be a ninja of some sort; her nose and mouth were covered with a mask, but with that outfit she wore, it was about the only thing effectively covered. Looking at her eyes, he couldn't find any mal intent in them. In fact, if he had to guess, he would've said she was...smiling?

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" she said.

His eyes widened, recognizing the voice. She lowered her mask revealing her face and she was, indeed, smiling. "No...not you!" Ryouga went into full panic mode. "How did you find me?"

"By accident, actually. I was just passing through this town when I saw you. Come to think of it, you were being chased by her," she motioned her head towards Ukyou. "And...you were dressed nearly the same way you were the first time we met." Oh no...she still remembered. No doubt she was hunting him looking for revenge for what happened back then. She was probably watching his fight with Hayate and waited until the end when he was too tired and too beat up to defend himself to make her move. "I saw your fight earlier..." Crap, he was right. "I was wondering if your beating me before was just a fluke or not," she said. "Now I know it wasn't. You are quite strong...much stronger than I thought." She narrowed her eyes and reared her hand back, "Now, it's quite clear what my course of action must be..."

Ryouga tensed up, "NO!"

Ukyou sprang into action to try to rescue her friend, "RYOUGA!"

The ninja girl's hand shot forward and grabbed his neck. She yanked his head forward and pressed his lips into hers, catching him in a long, drawn out kiss. Ukyou froze in mid stride and her eye began to twitch. The ninja girl disengaged the kiss and released his neck. "Mmmm...nice. I have a feeling you're going to make a great husband." Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rested her head on his chest and released a content sigh. Ryouga blinked, wondering what in the world just happened. Looking at Ukyou, who had steam coming out of her ears and was shooting daggers at him with her eyes, one thing was certain...

He would've been better off if the ninja girl had just tried to kill him.

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+---- 

-End Book Two.


End file.
